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Atmospheric Models for AerocaptureThere are eight destinations in the solar System with sufficient atmosphere for aerocapture to be a viable aeroassist option - Venus, Earth, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn and its moon Titan, Uranus, and Neptune. Engineering-level atmospheric models for four of these targets (Earth, Mars, Titan, and Neptune) have been developed for NASA to support systems analysis studies of potential future aerocapture missions. Development of a similar atmospheric model for Venus has recently commenced. An important capability of all of these models is their ability to simulate quasi-random density perturbations for Monte Carlo analyses in developing guidance, navigation and control algorithm, and for thermal systems design. Similarities and differences among these atmospheric models are presented, with emphasis on the recently developed Neptune model and on planned characteristics of the Venus model. Example applications for aerocapture are also presented and illustrated. Recent updates to the Titan atmospheric model are discussed, in anticipation of applications for trajectory and atmospheric reconstruct of Huygens Probe entry at Titan.
Document ID
20040085958
Acquisition Source
Marshall Space Flight Center
Document Type
Preprint (Draft being sent to journal)
Authors
Justus, C. G.
(Morgan Research Corp. Huntsville, AL, United States)
Duvall, Aleta L.
(Morgan Research Corp. Huntsville, AL, United States)
Keller, Vernon W.
(NASA Marshall Space Flight Center Huntsville, AL, United States)
Date Acquired
September 7, 2013
Publication Date
April 9, 2004
Subject Category
Lunar And Planetary Science And Exploration
Meeting Information
Meeting: 40th AIAA/ASME/SAE/ASEE Joint Propulsion Conference
Location: Fort Lauderdale, FL
Country: United States
Start Date: July 11, 2004
End Date: July 14, 2004
Sponsors: American Society for Electrical Engineers, Society of Automotive Engineers, Inc., American Inst. of Aeronautics and Astronautics, American Society of Mechanical Engineers
Funding Number(s)
CONTRACT_GRANT: NNM04AA02C
Distribution Limits
Public
Copyright
Work of the US Gov. Public Use Permitted.
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