this post was submitted on 13 Sep 2024
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It's definitely harder to decay the orbit into the sun directly than it is to get to escape velocity. But to play devil's advocate, there is probably a way to get them into the sun while being a similar cost to escape velocity. All you need to do is burn prograde to a super high aphelion, ride all the way out there to Pluto or whatever and then do a small retrograde burn to bring your perihelion inside the sun's photosphere. When you then get back towards the sun years later you would slam into it with a sick velocity that I think would be worth the decades-long wait.
This definitely reads like one of my KSP exploits...
Gravity assist with one of the larger planets to make a very narrow orbit seems to be the most efficient way. But you need the planets to align correctly to have an efficient route.
"I'll launch you into the sun once there is an appropriate transfer window to Jupiter" just doesn't have the same ring to it.
What if we catch a gravity assist off Jool, and do the retrograde burn at perijool to gain some free Oberth Effect DV?
This guy orbital mechanics!
Jebadiah is always so happy to spend 52 years only to find himself stranded on Bop.
I actually sent a rescue mission to save one of my kerbals and the science they had on board, and ended up needing to launch a mission to save the rescue mission....
Had to break it up into three launches, two to build the larger ship in orbit and one to fuel it up.
I learned a lot about orbital mechanics that day...
Total time in space was probably about 20 years...
And I may have forgotten about a kerbals in one or two plays....
I love KSP
I remember there was a trick where you could transfer fuel around to move your center of gravity then rotate the ship.
I scrolled down specifically looking for a KSP comment, thank you.
That's what I was thinking too.
Alternatively you do like the Parker Solar Probe and do 7 Venus flybys, bleeding off a little speed each time with an inverse gravity assist.
Not an expert, but I've read it's easiest to use jupiter to bleed off enough velocity to fall into our sun.
Yeah it probably is, my comment was really about raw deltaV numbers without using gravity assists.
Haven’t you basically done everything needed to escape the solar system by the time you do the burn to turn back again?
Yeah, you would only need to burn a little bit more on your initial burn, that's why I said the cost would be similar.
Fair. Your way is certainly more epic.