Mission Design and Performance Analysis of a Smallsat Aerocapture Flight Test

Abstract

An Earth smallsat mission architecture is developed to demonstrate the feasibility of aerocapture. The mission concept proposes to transfer from a geosynchronous transfer orbit rideshare trajectory to a low Earth orbit. Single-event drag modulation is used as a straightforward means of achieving the control required during the maneuver. Low- and high-fidelity guidance algorithm choices are considered. Numeric trajectory simulations and Monte Carlo uncertainty analyses are performed to show the robustness of the system to day-of-flight environments and uncertainties. Related investigations are described for Mars mission concepts to show the relevance of the proposed flight test to potential future applications.