Investigation of Drag-Modulated Supersonic Inflatable Aerodynamic Decelerators for Sounding Rocket Payloads

Abstract

The goal of this investigation is to understand the sizing and performance of supersonic inflatable aerodynamic decelerators for Earth-based sounding rocket applications. The recovery system under examination is composed of a supersonic inflatable aerodynamic decelerator and a guided parafoil system to achieve sub-100 m miss distances. Three supersonic inflatable aerodynamic decelerator configurations (tension cone, attached isotensoid, and trailing isotensoid) are examined using the metrics of decelerator mass, aerodynamic performance, and vehicle integration. In terms of aerodynamic performance, the tension cone is the preferred choice for the sizes investigated. The attached isotensoid was shown to be the most mass efficient decelerator, whereas the trailing isotensoid was found to be the more ideal decelerator for vehicle integration. A three-degree-of-freedom trajectory simulation is used in conjunction with Monte Carlo uncertainty analysis to assess the landed accuracy capability of the proposed architectures. In 95% of the cases examined, the drag-modulated inflatable aerodynamic decelerator provides arrivals within the 10 km parafoil capability region, meeting the sub-100 m landed recovery goals. In 76% of the cases examined, the dragmodulated inflatable aerodynamic decelerator arrives within 5 km of this target zone. Nomenclaturenumber m = mass, kg q = dynamic pressure, N∕m 2 S = area, m 2 s = downrange, m T = reference temperature, K t = time, s u = eastward wind velocity, m∕s V = velocity, m∕s v = northward wind velocity, m∕s β = ballistic coefficient equal to m∕C D A, kg∕m 2 δDR = change in downrange, km λ = launch elevation angle, deg Subscripts D = drag deploy = deployment est = estimate f = areal max = maximum min = minimum para = parafoil ref = reference target = target

Inflatable structure for aerospace application: Historical perspective and future outlook

“…Numerous researches and testing were conducted on the IAD. One of them is on whether the IAD is capable to perform as a precision-enhancing device for the purpose of pinpoint the ding of the vehicle or payload [27]. Research by [8] focuses on effect of the internal 320 but the problem is inflatable rigidizable wing can only be used this make it less attractive in term of In summary, the inflatable wing as a concept has been around for years but it was not translated into a practical application.…”

“…Aerodynamic decelerators are important for p It will function asa decelerator to minimize the descent rate, provide entry process and protect the vehicle from impact during landing [27 Its capability to being deployed at higher dynamic pressures and Mach numbers is the advantages of IAD over the conventional parachute technology as these abilities will result in cantly increasing deceleration [26]. Numerous researches and testing were conducted on the IAD.…”

“…It will function asa decelerator to minimize the descent rate, provide stability during re-entry process and protect the vehicle Its capability to being deployed at higher dynamic pressures and Mach numbers is the advantages of IAD over the conventional parachute technology as these abilities will result in significantly increasing deceleration [ Numerous researches and testing were conducted on the IAD. One of them is on whether the IAD is capable to perform as a precision landing of the vehicle or payload [27].…”

“…Aerodynamic decelerators are important for planetary It will function asa decelerator to minimize the descent rate, provide impact during landing [27][28].…”

“…Therefore, only Aramid (Kevlar and Technora) and LCP (Vectran) remain as the most suitable material for inflatable wing application and the proof that these material are the best is the fact that many research group on inflatable structure are using either of this material for their research [23,27,[37][38][39][40][41][42].…”