Publication Date:
2019-07-13
Description:
After a seven-month interplanetary cruise, the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter arrived at Mars and executed a 1.0 km/s Mars Orbit Insertion (MOI) maneuver. The post-MOI orbit was highly elliptical with a 35 hour, 428 km x 45000 km altitude orbit. To establish a useful science orbit, the navigation team used an aerobraking technique to guide the spacecraft into a 2-hour, 255 km x 320 km altitude orbit. This paper details the aerobraking navigation operation strategy and flight results. It also describes the aerobraking key requirements and navigation challenges.
Keywords:
Astrodynamics; Spacecraft Design, Testing and Performance
Type:
SpaceOps 2008; May 12, 2008 - May 16, 2008; Heidelberg; Germany
Format:
text
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