Aerobraking has become a proven approach for orbital missions at Mars. A launch of a 1000 kg class spacecraft on a Delta class booster saves 90% of the post-MOI fuel otherwise required to circularize the orbit. In 1997, Mars Global Surveyor demonstrated the feasibility and Mars 2001 Odyssey completed a nearly trouble free aerobraking phase in January 2002. In 2006, Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter will also utilize aerobraking. From the flight operations standpoint, however, aerobraking is labor intensive and high risk due to the large density variability in the Mars thermosphere. The maximum rate of aerobraking is typically limited by the maximum allowable temperature of the solar array which is the primary drag surface. Prior missions have used a surrogate variable, usually maximum free stream heat flux, as a basis for performing periapsis altitude corridor control maneuvers. This paper provides an adaptive sequential method for operationally relating measured temperatures to heat flux profile characteristics and performing maneuvers based directly on measured temperatures and atmospheric properties derived from the heat flux profiles. Simulations of autonomous aerobraking are performed using Odyssey mission data.
Autonomous Aerobraking at Mars
5th International Conference on Spacecraft Guidance, Navigation and Control Systems ; 2002 ; Frascati, Italy
01.01.2002
Preprint
Keine Angabe
Englisch
Autonomous Aerobraking at Mars
British Library Conference Proceedings | 2003
|Autonomous Aerobraking at Mars
NTIS | 2002
|Approaches to Autonomous Aerobraking at Mars
Online Contents | 2002
|