Atmospheric Entry Heat Flux Sensor Calibration and Flight Data Analysis

- Recent NASA missions have included total heat flux sensors (THFS) embedded in the thermal
protection system (TPS) to measure the combined convective and radiative heating during atmospheric entry. These measurements are key to fundamental entry science and mission design.
- The THFSs for the Mars Entry, Descent, and Landing Instrumentation 2 (MEDLI2) sensor suite on the Mars 2020 entry vehicle and the Low-Earth Orbit Flight Test of an Inflatable Decelerator (LOFTID) technology demonstration mission were passively cooled Schmidt–Boelter gauges.
- As presented at IPPW 2021, THFS calibration is notoriously difficult and includes several sources of measurement uncertainty [1].
- Recent work has been conducted to understand and quantify the measurement uncertainty in the MEDLI2 and LOFTID Schmidt-Boelter THFSs.