Publication Date:
2019-07-18
Description:
Aerocapture is an efficient orbit insertion technique that uses the planet's atmosphere to decelerate an arriving spacecraft. With current technology and for vehicles of reasonable mass, it is the only technique that might deliver the high delta-V's required for insertion to orbits around the outer planets. Preliminary design studies for outer planet orbital missions must evaluate aerocapture strategies, and must therefore consider the coupling between vehicle geometry, aerodynamics, aerocapture trajectory, heating and thermal protection system mass. The analyses have been linked into an integrated design environment, with the critical parameters grouped in a global database. The designer is free to use single point evaluations, parametric variation, and numerical optimization to evaluate a range of vehicle shapes and insertion trajectories. The application of this design tool to a preliminary study for Neptune aerocapture has implications for the use of such computational environments for any atmospheric entry mission.
Keywords:
Lunar and Planetary Science and Exploration
Type:
7th Symposium on Multidisciplinary Analysis and Optimization; Sep 02, 1998 - Sep 04, 1998; Saint Louis, MO; United States
Format:
text
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