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Development of a Mars Airplane Entry, Descent, and Flight TrajectoryAn entry, descent, and flight (EDF) trajectory profile for a Mars airplane mission is defined as consisting of the following elements: ballistic entry of an aeroshell; supersonic deployment of a decelerator parachute; subsonic release of a heat shield; release, unfolding, and orientation of an airplane to flight attitude; and execution of a pull up maneuver to achieve trimmed, horizontal flight. Using the Program to Optimize Simulated Trajectories (POST) a trajectory optimization problem was formulated. Model data representative of a specific Mars airplane configuration, current models of the Mars surface topography and atmosphere, and current estimates of the interplanetary trajectory, were incorporated into the analysis. The goal is to develop an EDF trajectory to maximize the surface-relative altitude of the airplane at the end of a pull up maneuver, while subject to the mission design constraints. The trajectory performance was evaluated for three potential mission sites and was found to be site-sensitive. The trajectory performance, examined for sensitivity to a number of design and constraint variables, was found to be most sensitive to airplane mass, aerodynamic performance characteristics, and the pull up Mach constraint. Based on the results of this sensitivity study, an airplane-drag optimized trajectory was developed that showed a significant performance improvement.
Document ID
20010013134
Acquisition Source
Armstrong Flight Research Center
Document Type
Preprint (Draft being sent to journal)
Authors
Murray, James E. (NASA Dryden Flight Research Center Edwards, CA United States)
Tartabini, Paul V. (NASA Langley Research Center Hampton, VA United States)
Date Acquired
September 7, 2013
Publication Date
January 1, 2001
Subject Category
Lunar And Planetary Science And Exploration
Report/Patent Number
AIAA Paper 2001-0839
NASA/TM-2001-209035
H-2436
NAS 1.15:209035
Meeting Information
Meeting: Aerospace Science
Location: Reno, NV
Country: United States
Start Date: January 8, 2001
End Date: January 11, 2001
Sponsors: American Inst. of Aeronautics and Astronautics
Funding Number(s)
PROJECT: RTOP 529-10-04-E8-29-00
Distribution Limits
Public
Copyright
Work of the US Gov. Public Use Permitted.

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