Fig. 2. Duty cycle of the engagement of a single microwave beam with the interorbital vehicle as a function of the altitude of the vehicle above the Earth. eration occurs are evenly distributed throughout 360° when projected on a polar coordinate plane. The assumption that the trajectory will be a simple spiral is undoubtedly an oversimplification and will need further study. However, the assumption allows the use of the equation for a spiral trajectory, as given for example in Stuhlinger (7), from which the incremental transit times through increments of altitude can be computed after taking into consideration the duty cycle for that increment of altitude (obtained from Fig. 2, for example). The incremental transit times can then be summed to obtain the total transit time. The total transit times will depend not only upon the empty mass of the vehicle but also upon the mass of the useful payload and the mass of the propellant. It will also depend upon the altitude where it initiates its outward journey. Table 2 tabulates the data of interest for various payload fractions for an initial altitude of 800 km. In addition to transit times, the table provides data on propellant mass per kilogram of
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