A piloted simulation was conducted to study handling qualities for capsule spacecraft entering the Earth s atmosphere. Eight evaluation pilots, including six pilot astronauts, provided Cooper-Harper ratings, workload ratings, and qualitative comments. The simulation began after descending through the atmospheric entry interface point and continued until the drogue parachutes deployed. There were two categories of piloting tasks, both of which required bank angle control. In one task category, the pilot followed a closed-loop bank angle command computed by the backup guidance system to manage g-loads during entry. In the other task category, the pilot used intuitive rules to determine the desired bank angle independently, based on an open-loop schedule of vertical speed, Mach, and total energy specified at several range-to-target gates along the entry trajectory. Pilots were able to accurately track the bank angle guidance commands and steered the capsule toward the recovery site with essentially the same range error as the benchmark autopilot trajectory albeit with substantially higher propellant usage, and the handling qualities for this task were satisfactory. Another key result was that the complex piloting task of atmospheric entry could be performed satisfactorily, even in the presence of large dispersions, by controlling bank angle to follow a simple open-loop schedule.
Handling Qualities of a Capsule Spacecraft During Atmospheric Entry
AIAA Atmospheric Flight Mechanics Conference
;
2010
;
Toronto, Ontario, Canada, Canada
AIAA Guidance, Navigation, and Control Conference
;
2010
;
Toronto, Ontario, Canada, Canada
AIAA Atmospheric and Space Environments Conference
;
2010
;
Toronto, Ontario, Canada, Canada
AIAA Modeling and Simulation Technologies Conference
;
2010
;
Toronto, Ontario, Canada, Canada
2010-08-02
Aufsatz (Konferenz)
Keine Angabe
Englisch
Handling Qualities of a Capsule Spacecraft During Atmospheric Entry
Online Contents | 2012
|Handling Qualities of a Capsule Spacecraft During Atmospheric Entry
British Library Conference Proceedings | 2010
|Orion Capsule Handling Qualities for Atmospheric Entry
NTIS | 2011
|Orion Capsule Handling Qualities for Atmospheric Entry
NTRS | 2011
|