A Preliminary Investigation of Aerogravity Assist at Triton for Capture into Orbit About Neptune

Previous work by our group has shown that an aerogravity assist maneuver at the moon Triton might be used to capture a spacecraft into a closed orbit about Neptune if a nominal atmospheric density profile at Triton is assumed. The present study extends that work and examines the impact of atmospheric dispersions, especially important in light of the very low density and large degree of uncertainty of Triton s atmosphere. Additional variables that are analyzed in the current study include ballute size and cut time and variations in the final target orbit. Results indicate that while blunt-body, rigid aeroshells penetrate too closely to the surface to be practical, ballutes of modest size show promise for this maneuver. Future studies will examine the application of inflatable aeroshells and rigid aeroshells with higher lift-to-drag ratios such as biconics and lifting bodies.