Analysis of Low $\Delta V$ Spacecraft Missions to Oort Cloud Comet C/2014 UN$_{271}$
Abstract
Comet C/2014 UN, alternative designation 'BB' after its discoverers 'Bernardinelli/Bernstein', and commonly referred to as UN, is an extreme case on two fronts, firstly its solar distance on discovery ( 29 au) and secondly the size of its nucleus (137 15 km). With an aphelion distance of 33,000 au (w.r.t. the solar system barycentre) and an orbital period 2 million years, it is definitely an object from the solar system's Oort cloud, and also by a good measure the largest Oort cloud object ever observed. In situ observation of UN would be of considerable scientific importance. Unlike most Oort cloud comets which have been discovered for the first time only as they near the inner solar system, UN was discovered early enough to provide adequate advanced warning to plan for such a mission. In this paper we describe the various methods for reaching UN during the period around its perihelion and ecliptic plane passage, with both flyby and rendezvous options; exploiting direct transfers, Jupiter powered gravitational assists (GA) or alternatively a series of GAs of the inner planets. Viable flyby and rendezvous trajectories are found, especially using the NASA Space Launch System (SLS) as the launch vehicle.
Cite
@article{arxiv.2210.05190,
title = {Analysis of Low $\Delta V$ Spacecraft Missions to Oort Cloud Comet C/2014 UN$_{271}$},
author = {Adam Hibberd and T. Marshall Eubanks},
journal= {arXiv preprint arXiv:2210.05190},
year = {2022}
}