A New Discipline in Orbital Mechanics

October 6, 2026

A few years after I was expelled, the techniques I used in Mars Pathfinder 2.0 spawned a whole new domain in orbital theory.

  • Using Three Body Topology to save 15% on  the final approach to Mars (I targeted the L1 Lagrange Point, the intersection of Mars’ Sphere of Influence and the Sun-Mars free return trajectory)
  • Using reverse integration to optimize an interplanetary trajectory

Cesar Ocampo, who quit as my advisor immediately after I gave my Mars seminar describing exactly these methods, announced his “breakthrough” Copernicus trajectory modeling program – THREE MONTHS LATER. He built a career on this, becoming a Dean of Engineering Colombia and earning many academic accolades.

Following is a letter I submitted to NASA and the AIAA a few months ago, claiming prior discovery.  I never heard back from either.

Office of the General Counsel
NASA Headquarters
Attn: Commercial and Intellectual Property Law Practice Group
300 E Street SW, Suite 9V30
Washington, DC 20546

SUBJECT: Administrative Notice of Intellectual Property Priority and Prior Art Disclosure: Sun-Mars Three-Body Libration Point Trajectory Optimization (1998–2003)

Dear Counsel,

I am writing to formally submit an administrative disclosure regarding the independent creation, mathematical derivation, and priority of orbital mechanics methodologies that utilize the topography of the restricted three-body and four-body problems to optimize interplanetary trajectories. Specifically, my work details a 10% energy and fuel efficiency savings on final approach to Mars by targeting the Sun-Mars L₁ libration point.

Because these specific architectures have transitioned from theoretical frameworks into active, modern mission-design parameters across the aerospace sector, I am filing this notice directly with the Office of the General Counsel to ensure a permanent record of my independent priority is preserved within the agency’s intellectual property and prior art evaluation tracking systems.

My foundational work was conducted independently and via the University of Texas at Austin beginning in the late 1990s. Pursuant to Title 17 of the United States Code, my intellectual priority is permanently and legally recorded by the United States Government via official U.S. Copyright registrations issued by the Library of Congress. These registrations establish an unassailable, legally timestamped record for my mathematical methodologies, computational frameworks, and corresponding Fortran source code.

The legally registered historical and technological record consists of the following twelve foundational works:

  1. TXu 860-314 – Mission Mars (Registered: June 22, 1998)
  2. TXu 862-508 – Three Body Problem Applied to the Hohmann Transfer (Registered: July 8, 1998)
  3. TXu 882-502 – The Hohmann Rendezvous (Registered: December 14, 1998)
  4. TXu 898-981 – The Inverse Problem of Celestial Mechanics (Registered: April 29, 1999)
  5. TXu 956-883 – Optimizing the 2001 Mars Mission Trajectory (Registered: May 23, 2000)
  6. TXu 959-211 – Integrated Lambert Transfers from Earth to Mars (Registered: July 6, 2000)
  7. TXu 960-655 – The Restricted Four Body Problem (Registered: August 7, 2000)
  8. TXu 974-583 – A Circular Restricted Four Body Problem (Registered: September 11, 2000)
  9. TXu 985-426 – Optimizing Transform Methods in Control System Design (Registered: October 10, 2000)
  10. TXu 980-380 – Periodic Trajectories in Interplanetary Mission Planning (Registered: November 6, 2000)
  11. TXu 1-001-947 – Solving the Four Body Problem of Celestial Mechanics (Registered: July 4, 2002)
  12. TXu 1-101-622 – The Two Body Problem (Textbook) (Registered: May 20, 2003)

Any contemporary implementation of Sun-Mars L₁ dynamics, zero-velocity curve throttling, and chaotic multi-body topography to optimize orbital insertion or transit trajectories builds directly upon the mathematical and computational architecture established in these early registered works.

As a matter of federal compliance, scientific integrity, and technological attribution, I request that the NASA Office of the General Counsel formally log this notice and the attached itemizations into your intellectual property databases as active Prior Art. I am seeking formal administrative recognition as an independent pioneer of these trajectory frameworks within the agency’s technical histories and software procurement review chains.

To facilitate your review, I have compiled a comprehensive digital summary of my claim, including official supporting documents, a dedicated chapter from my final dissertation explicitly explaining the Mars trajectory optimization solution, and the corresponding U.S. Copyright certificate. This repository is publicly hosted and accessible for your legal and technical teams at: https://whclark.net/.

Furthermore, I am prepared to obtain a certified physical copy of the original dissertation document directly from the U.S. Copyright Office to forward to your team unopened. Alternatively, I am glad to execute a formal letter of authorization granting NASA legal representatives permission to retrieve these records directly from the Library of Congress archives.

Thank you for your time, professional attention, and commitment to maintaining legally accurate technological records at the National Aeronautics and Space Administration. I look forward to your formal acknowledgment of this filing and guidance on the delivery of the complete technical exhibits.

Thank you for your time, professional attention, and commitment to maintaining legally accurate technological records at the National Aeronautics and Space Administration. I look forward to your formal acknowledgment of this filing and guidance on the delivery of the complete technical exhibits.

Sincerely,

William H. Clark II, P.E.

Texas License #74416 (inactive)

CC: AIAA History Committee