AstroGrav Help /Sample Simulations /Solar System /Spacecraft /UlyssesVersion 5.1

Ulysses

This simulation shows the path followed by the Ulysses spacecraft.

Ulysses was launched on 6th October 1990 and then received a gravity assist from the planet Jupiter on 8th February 1992 that changed its orbit into a very high inclination orbit of the Sun intended to allow observation of the Sun's poles.

The starting date for the simulation is 1st November 1990 - a few weeks after the launch of Ulysses. If you run the simulation forward, you can watch the encounter with Jupiter that was used to put Ulysses into its required orbit of the Sun.

Since different computers run at different speeds, you may need to edit the evolution time step to get the simulation to run at an acceptable rate.

You can find out more about Ulysses from the following website:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ulysses_(spacecraft)