An aerobrake design accounting for all of the important flow phenomenology which are characteristic of aerobraking vehicles is proposed as the mission baseline. Flight regimes and aerothermal environments for both Mars and earth entry are calculated using advanced methods to account for real-gas, thermochemical, relaxation effects. The results are correlated with thermal-protection and structural requirements and mission performance capability. The importance of nonequilibrium radiative heating for earth aerocapture is demonstrated. It is suggested that two aerobrakes of different sizes will produce optimal performance for the three phases of the mission (i.e., one aerobrake for Mars aerocapture and descent of the surface lander and another for earth return).


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    Title :

    Aeroassisted-vehicle design studies for a manned Mars mission


    Contributors:

    Publication date :

    1987-10-01


    Type of media :

    Conference paper


    Type of material :

    No indication


    Language :

    English