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Atmospheric entry of nuclear-powered vehicles due to accidental/inadvertent termination of operationsThe entries of the radioactive components into earth's atmosphere resulting from an accident or inadvertent abort of a space vehicle powered by nuclear-thermal-rockets are investigated. The study is made for a typical piloted Mars mission vehicle incapacitated by an accident or malfunction during the trans-Mars-injection maneuver due to simultaneous multiple failures of its component systems. The three different accident/abort modes considered are the following: (1) a constant-rate angular pitching motion of the vehicle, (2) a constant-acceleration angular pitching motion of the vehicle, and (3) the rocket engine breaks away from the rest of the vehicle with a finite relative (dispersion) velocity. The speeds and angles of the atmospheric entries are calculated for each mode for different values of the time of the accident, pitching rate, acceleration, and dispersion velocity. For the most severe entry speeds and flight-path angles, the stagnation-point pressures, heat transfer rates, thickness, and mass per unit area of the heat shields necessary to protect the radioactive components from disintegrating, deceleration g-loads, and high ground-impact velocities are calculated. The study points out that the high g-loads and high ground-impact velocities are the most serious problems that must be addressed.
Document ID
19920066238
Acquisition Source
Legacy CDMS
Document Type
Conference Paper
Authors
Menees, Gene P.
(NASA Ames Research Center Moffett Field, CA, United States)
Park, Chul
(NASA Ames Research Center Moffett Field, CA, United States)
Tauber, Michael E.
(NASA Ames Research Center Moffett Field, CA, United States)
Date Acquired
August 15, 2013
Publication Date
July 1, 1992
Subject Category
Astronautics (General)
Report/Patent Number
AIAA PAPER 92-3270
Accession Number
92A48862
Distribution Limits
Public
Copyright
Other

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