| Sep 18, 2013 |
Spacecraft aerocapture braking simulation marks key step towards real flight test
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(Nanowerk News) Researchers at EU-funded project AEROFAST ('Aerocapture for future space transportation') have successfully simulated a flight manoeuvre in which a space vehicle uses a planet's atmosphere to slow itself down.
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The project's simulation under laboratory conditions of the manoeuvre - known as aerocapture - marks an important step towards a real flight demonstration on a planet with atmosphere, such as Earth or Mars. Using the technique would allow space missions to save fuel - and weight - and help expand the ability of humans to explore our solar system.
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The project's researchers believe aerocapture technologies could eventually become a core capability for planetary transportation, moving humans and cargo between geostationary Earth orbit and low Earth orbit, and also between the Earth and the Moon or Mars.
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Led by France's ASTRIUM, the researchers integrated expertise from a range of scientific disciplines, including areas such as aerodynamics and aerothermal environments.
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The team designed and simulated a typical space mission to test the concept. They first established the initial conditions required to perform each phase of a future outer space mission, including the launch, cruise and aerocapture phases.
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They then worked on improving spacecraft design to meet these requirements. For example, they tested and improved on algorithms for guidance, navigation and control (GNC) systems in a laboratory simulator. They then simulated a complete mission in laboratory conditions to test spacecraft performance.
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The tests confirmed that an aerocapture manoeuvre could work. The simulated mission was successful even under worst-case scenarios, while remaining within mass and budgetary constraints. The tests showed that their design of a biconic (aerodynamic) shape as the most appropriate choice for a spacecraft.
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The project's prototype (a reduced-scale model) of a spacecraft's thermal protection system based on cork also provided interesting results that should be further considered, the researchers say.
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AEROFAST project results already stand as a reference work for upcoming missions, including the European Space Agency's planned Mars exploration missions. The project's research has resulted in 14 articles published in peer-reviewed journals.
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