Aerocapture is a maneuver where a spacecraft makes a single pass through a planetary atmosphere, thus using aerodynamic drag to deplete enough energy to establish a captured orbit. A new analytical predictor-corrector guidance algorithm has been developed for the Mars aerocapture problem. This paper presents a drag-modulation method where ballistic coefficient is continuously adjusted in order to control the vehicle during the atmospheric flight phase. An analytical function for velocity during aerocapture serves as the basis for the guidance method, and this expression results in a closed-form control law for ballistic coefficient. Guidance periodically updates the velocity profile so that the correct exit conditions are achieved. The ballistic coefficient control law utilizes the ratio of the measured and reference drag accelerations to improve the targeting accuracy of the guidance scheme. Two different apoapsis-targeting scenarios for Mars aerocapture are investigated in this paper. Monte Carlo simulations demonstrate the performance and robustness of the proposed guidance algorithm.


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    Title :

    Analytical Guidance for Mars Aerocapture via Drag Modulation


    Additional title:

    J Astronaut Sci


    Contributors:

    Published in:

    Publication date :

    2022-06-01


    Size :

    22 pages




    Type of media :

    Article (Journal)


    Type of material :

    Electronic Resource


    Language :

    English




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