On September 8, 2004, the Genesis spacecraft returned to Earth after spending 29 months about the sun-Earth libration point collecting solar wind particles. Four hours prior to Earth arrival, the entry capsule containing the samples was released for entry and subsequent landing at the Utah Test and Training Range. This paper provides an overview of the entry, descent, and landing trajectory analysis that was performed during the Mission Operations Phase leading up to final approach to Earth. The operations effort accurately delivered the entry capsule to the desired landing site. The final landing location was 8.3 km from the target, and was well within the allowable landing area. Preliminary reconstruction analyses indicate that the actual entry trajectory was very close to the pre-entry prediction.
Entry, Descent, and Landing Operations Analysis for the Genesis Re-Entry Capsule
15th AAS/AIAA Space Flight Mechanics Conference ; 2005 ; Copper Mountain, CO, United States
2005-01-20
Preprint
No indication
English
Entry, Descent, and Landing Operations Analysis for the Genesis Entry Capsule
Online Contents | 2008
|Entry, Descent, and Landing Operations Analysis for the Genesis Re-Entry Capsule (AAS 05-121)
British Library Conference Proceedings | 2005
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