The use of atmospheric braking during Mars missionsThe use of a high-lift, winged atmospheric entry-glide vehicle by an early Mars manned mission lasting 14-16 months allows the effective use of atmospheric braking to decelerate upon arrival at Mars. Following nearly-constant deceleration, the vehicle skips out of the atmosphere into a low planetary orbit. The maximum atmospheric heating rate thus generated is of the order of 100 W/sq cm at the stagnation point for a fully catalytic surface; the corresponding equilibrium wall temperature was 2150 K. The vehicle envisioned could be radiatively cooled to an entry speed of over 8 km/sec.
Document ID
19890055873
Acquisition Source
Legacy CDMS
Document Type
Conference Paper
Authors
Tauber, M. E. (NASA Ames Research Center Moffett Field, CA, United States)
Bowles, J. V. (NASA Ames Research Center Moffett Field, CA, United States)
Yang, Lily (Sterling Software Palo Alto, CA, United States)