Large navigation and atmospheric uncertainties have historically driven the need for a mid-lift-to-drag-ratio ( mid - L / D ) vehicle with ( L / D ) max of 0.6–0.8 for aerocapture at Neptune. Most planetary entry vehicles flown to date are low- L / D blunt-body aeroshells with L / D less than 0.4. The lack of a heritage mid- L / D aeroshell presents a major hurdle for Neptune aerocapture, as the development of a new entry vehicle incurs significant time and investment. Techniques that may allow Neptune aerocapture to be feasible using heritage low- L / D blunt-body aeroshells are investigated that obviate the need for mid- L / D aeroshells. A navigation study is performed to quantify the delivery errors, and a new guidance algorithm with onboard density estimation is developed to accommodate large atmospheric uncertainties. Monte Carlo simulation results indicate that the reduced navigation uncertainty and improved guidance scheme enable a blunt-body aeroshell with L / D = 0.3 0.4 to perform aerocapture at Neptune. The expected heat rate is within the capabilities of existing thermal protection system materials.


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    Titel :

    Feasibility and Performance Analysis of Neptune Aerocapture Using Heritage Blunt-Body Aeroshells


    Beteiligte:

    Erschienen in:

    Erscheinungsdatum :

    2020-07-24


    Format / Umfang :

    18 pages




    Medientyp :

    Aufsatz (Zeitschrift)


    Format :

    Elektronische Ressource


    Sprache :

    Englisch




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