Titan aerogravity-assist maneuvers for Saturn/Enceladus missions

Lu, Ye; Saikia, Sarag J.

doi:10.1016/j.actaastro.2020.06.001

Cited by 10 publications

(1 citation statement)

References 16 publications

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“…The experienced acceleration does not drastically exceed the 8-g limit, and the required lift-to-drag ratio remains below two throughout the maneuver. Although the maximum heat flux, estimated at 2200 W/cm 2 , is far greater than typical atmospheric entries [31] and exceeds the capabilities of traditional thermal protection system (TPS) materials [32], high-performance TPS are under active development: For example, the Heatshield for Extreme Entry Environment Technology (HEEET), tested at fluxes of up to 3600 W/cm 2 [33], appears capable of withstanding the thermal loads of this maneuver. Although these results are encouraging, the practicality of such a maneuver is still uncertain.…”

Section: Simulation Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Design of a rapid transit to Mars mission using laser-thermal propulsion

et al. 2022

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The application of directed energy to spacecraft mission design is explored using rapid transit to Mars as the design objective. An Earth-based laser array of unprecedented size (10 m diameter) and power (100 MW) is assumed to be enabled by ongoing developments in photonic laser technology. A phased-array laser of this size and incorporating atmospheric compensation would be able to deliver laser power to spacecraft in cislunar space, where the incident laser is focused into a hydrogen heating chamber via an inflatable reflector. The hydrogen propellant is then exhausted through a nozzle to realize specific impulses of 3000 s. The architecture is shown to be immediately reusable via a burn-back maneuver to return the propulsion unit while still within range of the Earth-based laser. The ability to tolerate much greater laser fluxes enables realizing the combination of high thrust and high specific impulse, making this approach favorable in comparison to laser-electric propulsion and occupying a parameter space similar to gas-core nuclear thermal rockets (without the requisite reactor). The heating chamber and its associated regenerative cooling and propellant handling systems are crucial elements of the design that receive special attention in this study. The astrodynamics and the extreme aerocapture maneuver required at Mars arrival after a 45-day transit are also analyzed in detail. The application of laser-thermal propulsion as an enabling technology for other rapid transit missions in the solar system and beyond is discussed.

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Section: Simulation Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%