Trajectories for a Near Term Mission to the Interstellar Medium

Trajectories for rapid access to the interstellar medium (ISM) with a Kuiper Belt Object (KBO) flyby, launching between 2022 and 2030, are described. An impulsive-patched-conic broad search algorithm combined with a local optimizer is used for the trajectory computations. Two classes of trajectories, (1) with a powered Jupiter flyby and (2) with a perihelion maneuver, are studied and compared. Planetary flybys combined with leveraging maneuvers reduce launch C3 requirements (by factor of 2 or more) and help satisfy mission-phasing constraints. Low launch C3 combined with leveraging and a perihelion maneuver is found to be enabling for a near-term potential mission to the ISM.