A cycler orbit uses the gravity of two planets to keep a vehicle moving back and forth between them indefinitely, with minimal propellant required. A cycler spacecraft acts as an interplanetary shuttle or space station. Smaller taxi vehicles would launch from a planet, dock with the passing cycler for the long transit, and detach when they reach the destination.
Heard on the job
If we establish an Earth-Mars cycler, we only need to launch the heavy life-support habitat once.
Insider tip
Cyclers solve the problem of carrying massive radiation shielding and life support on every single trip, moving that mass into a permanent orbit instead.
Also heard as
- cycler trajectory
- Aldrin cycler