SCIENCE AND ENGINEERING FAIR
Research Plan and/or Abstract for 2018

Category Award:   4 (Blue - Outstanding)

Research Plan:
During the course of the experiment, the fundamentals of orbital mechanics will be tested using Albert Einstein’s Theory of General Relativity to obtain information on energy efficient entry orbits around a planet. Orbital mechanics is the science of relating newtonian physics to spacecraft motion and the Theory of General Relativity is a well respected hypothesis developed to show how any object bends the spacetime continuum(a model that joins both time and space into one plane) resulting in the phenomenon known as gravity. Using the representation given for relativity, simple yet meaningful experiments can be designed. A spandex sheet will be used to simulate the spacetime continuum. A bowling ball will placed on the sheet to portray a planet’s gravitational pull on multiple marbles that will illustrate spacecrafts. This experiment works because the bowling ball will create a bend in the spandex which will be regarded as Einstein’s view of gravity. The first test that will be run is going to demonstrate when spacecrafts are at any different distance from a planet, should the time taken to reach the planet be the same or different if they are at rest. The second test that will be run is going to show how multiple “spacecrafts” released together with the same initial velocity will move and the time taken that differentiates it from a single object’s motion. The last study that will be done will be to observe how an object released at separate positions and in different ways with approximately the same initial velocity will propagate through 2 differing masses(another “planet” will be added).

Abstract:
During the course of the 3 studies conducted in the experiment, time and motion data was collected. In the first experiment, time data at each position on a spandex sheet was observed when marbles, serving as spacecrafts, were dropped from the points. These time intervals conveyed that gravity, even in a sloped dimensional plane, is constant and will always remain constant. This brought out the idea of the higher an object goes in the atmosphere, the longer it will take to come down. This also helped introduce the astrodynamics concept of freefall to a planet, which helps provide a reason for when and how to escape an orbit and reach the ground. In the next study, not only time but motion data was collected too. This helped provide intricate data on how long an orbit takes and the types of motion attained if multiple objects were travelling together. The time was measured for four different situations ranging from the number of “spacecraft” in the system to various distances from the center of the planet. The motion part was describing these scenarios in such a way that it showed how if multiple objects were launched together in the same orbit, they will rotate in relation to each other and revolve around a planet with one another. An example of this behavior is how the Earth and Moon interact with each other as well as the sun. Although objects in orbit will stay in orbit unless provoked into a freefall, this data still helps state how efficient certain types of orbits are with the respect to time. The last study that was conducted demonstrated the time taken for spacecrafts to travel between planets and the types of paths they take when in motion. Overall, this experiment concluded that a Figure 8 type of orbit is the most efficient type of orbital path to use a gravity assist. The efficiency rating was based on how long it took for spacecrafts to travel between the planets starting from different heights and if the time taken was the smallest then it would be the most efficient, as the Figure 8 orbit was both times. The experiment all in all helped answer the question of how Orbital Mechanics related to Einstein’s Theory of General Relativity(the basis of how this experiment was designed) to find how efficient orbits are created.