Development of an Earth Smallsat Flight Test to Demonstrate Viability of Mars Aerocapture
Author(s)
Werner, Michael S.
Woollard, Bryce A.
Tadanki, Anirudh
Pujari, S. R.
Braun, Robert D.
Lock, Robert E.
Nelessen, Adam P.
Woolley, Ryan C.
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Abstract
A smallsat mission concept is developed to demonstrate the feasibility of an aerocapture system at Earth. The proposed mission utilizes aerocapture to transfer from a GTO rideshare trajectory to a LEO. Single-event drag modulation is used as a simple means of achieving the control required during the maneuver. Numeric trajectory simulations and Monte Carlo uncertainty analyses are performed to show the robustness of the system to day-of-flight environments and uncertainties. Similar investigations are performed at Mars to show the relevance of the proposed mission concept to potential future applications. The spacecraft design consists of a 24.9 kg vehicle with an attached rigid drag skirt, and features commercially-available hardware to enable flight system construction at a university scale. Results indicate that the proposed design is capable of targeting the desired final orbit, surviving the aerothermodynamic and deceleration environments produced during aerocapture, and downlinking relevant data following the maneuver.
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Date
2017-01
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Paper
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