Title:
Mechanical Design of a Cubesat Aeroshell for an
Earth Demonstration of Single-Stage
Drag Modulated Aerocapture
Mechanical Design of a Cubesat Aeroshell for an
Earth Demonstration of Single-Stage
Drag Modulated Aerocapture
Author(s)
Woollard, Bryce A.
Advisor(s)
Braun, Robert D.
Editor(s)
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Abstract
The following article documents the conceptual study of a smallsat entry vehicle to be
implemented for demonstration of single-stage drag modulated aerocapture at Earth. The
specific nature of the contents below focuses on the mechanical design and analysis of the
aeroshell and drag device, as well as the mechanisms by which all parts are to be
manufactured, assembled and actuated in order to perform the intended orbital maneuver.
The results of this study show that accomplishing aerocapture with a cubesat entry vehicle
appears to be feasible with a 2U payload and would require approximately 20 kg and 0.1 m3
of secondary payload mass and volume, respectively. First order stagnation point thermal
protection sizing suggests that 4.2 cm of PICA would be required globally around the vehicle,
although potential exists to optimize this value relative to geometric location. Static stability
analysis indicates that the designed vehicle is nose-forward stable for a majority of the
atmospheric interface with outstanding questions pertaining to atmospheric egress.
Manufacturing costs for a full scale aeroshell would be approximately $15,000 and require
roughly 2 months of lead time, dependent on presently available machine shop capabilities.
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Date Issued
2016-08-01
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Resource Type
Text
Resource Subtype
Masters Project
Rights Statement
Unless otherwise noted, all materials are protected under U.S. Copyright Law and all rights are reserved