EQUAL THETA SURFACES FOR SPACE NAVIGATION

Major Frank J. Sites

Peer Reviewed

Abstract: MAN’S PENETRATION INTO SPACE has introduced the imperative demands of new discoveries, new methods, and new inventions to satisfy the stringent requirements imposed by space flight. Effective navigation and guidance is essential for promoting this new era of exploration and travel. And, becausce of the newness and demanding character of the many possible ventures into outer space, a minimum-risk program of simple and reliable navigational techniques and hardware probably offers the best opportunity for success. The concepts for navigating in space with information available from equal theta surfaces were developed with these objectives in mind. The techniques provide for the extensive use of the natural bodies of the universe, but they are equally adaptable to artificial bodies with stable orbits.
Published in: NAVIGATION: Journal of the Institute of Navigation, Volume 8, Number 3
Pages: 214 - 220
Cite this article: Sites, Major Frank J., "EQUAL THETA SURFACES FOR SPACE NAVIGATION", NAVIGATION: Journal of The Institute of Navigation, Vol. 8, No. 3, Fall 1961, pp. 214-220.
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