Exploration of the Ice Giants, especially Uranus, via orbiter and atmospheric probes, is required to answer pressing science questions that have been raised in the latest Decadal Survey. As the Ice Giants are the farthest planets from Earth, traditional fully-propulsive orbit insertion missions have transit times to the planetary bodies nearing 13-15 years and require a large amount of propellant (wet mass percentages of around 60-70%) for the orbit insertion maneuver, leaving less mass for the scientific payload and a planetary probe. Aerocapture uses aerodynamic forces generated by flight within a planetary atmosphere to decelerate and achieve orbit insertion. Aerocapture has been considered for several past missions but it has not been demonstrated. However, recent developments in thermal protection systems (TPS), guidance and control (G&C), and interplanetary navigation capabilities show the potential for using rigid, heritage entry vehicle configurations already flown at other planetary bodies for Ice Giants aerocapture. Aerocapture can robustly deliver spacecraft to Ice Giant orbits, while substantially increasing on-orbit payload mass (more than 40%) that can be used for a robust atmospheric entry probe. Additionally, the aerocapture maneuver would reduce the interplanetary transit time by 2-5 years (15-30%) relative to fully-propulsive orbit insertion. Recent work has shown that a flagship-class mission can be conducted in a shorter time than fully-propulsive missions if using aerocapture.


    Access

    Access via TIB

    Check availability in my library


    Export, share and cite



    Title :

    Flagship-Class Uranus Orbiter and Probe Using Aerocapture


    Contributors:
    S Dutta (author) / A Gomez-Delrio (author) / B Johnson (author) / D Mages (author) / D Matz (author) / E Shellabarger (author) / J Geiser (author) / J Morgan (author) / J Scoggins (author) / J Williams (author)

    Conference:

    20th International Planetary Probe Workshop 2023 ; 2023 ; Marseillies, FR


    Type of media :

    Miscellaneous


    Type of material :

    No indication


    Language :

    English


    Keywords :


    Uranus Flagship-class Orbiter and Probe Using Aerocapture

    Soumyo Dutta / Eli Shellabarger / James B Scoggins et al. | NTRS


    Flagship-Class Uranus Orbiter and Probe Using Aerocapture

    S. Dutta / A. Gomez-Delrio / B. Johnson et al. | NTIS | 2023


    Uranus Flagship-class Orbiter and Probe Using Aerocapture

    Dutta, Soumyo / Shellabarger, Eli / Scoggins, James B. et al. | AIAA | 2024


    Uranus Flagship-class Orbiter and Probe Using Aerocapture

    Soumyo Dutta / Eli Shellabarger / James Scoggins et al. | NTRS


    Uranus Flagship-class Orbiter and Probe Using Aerocapture

    S. Dutta / E. Shellabarger / J. B. Scoggins et al. | NTIS | 2023