FUTURE NASA EXPLORATION PLANS WILL REALIZE SIGNIFICANT PERFORMANCE ADVANTAGES WITH AEROCAPTURE AND AEROBRAK…

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FUTURE NASA EXPLORATION PLANS WILL REALIZE SIGNIFICANT PERFORMANCE ADVANTAGES WITH AEROCAPTURE AND AEROBRAKING OF LARGE, HEAVY PAYLOADS FOR MARS, TITAN, AND THE GAS GIANT PLANETS. DURING A PREVIOUS NASA LARC FUNDED HIGH MASS MARS ENTRY SYSTEM STUDY, ANDREWS SPACE FOUND THAT WHILE INFLATABLE AEROBRAKE DESIGNS POTENTIALLY OFFER THE LOWEST-MASS SOLUTION, THEY ARE CHALLENGED FROM THE UNCERTAINTIES OF DYNAMIC RESPONSE OF LARGE SOFT STRUCTURES AT THE SIZES REQUIRED, AND FROM THE RISKS ASSOCIATED WITH CLEANLY SEPARATING THE LANDER/PAYLOAD FROM THE DECELERATOR. A "PETAL BRAKE" CONCEPT WAS INTRODUCED AS AN INTEGRATED HYPERSONIC ENTRY SYSTEM DESIGN THAT ADDRESSES THESE ISSUES. THE DESIGN PERFORMS HYPERSONIC AEROCAPTURE AND ENTRY MANEUVERS AS A BICONIC AEROSHELL, THEN DEPLOYS TO PROVIDE HIGHER DRAG JUST PRIOR TO TERMINAL DESCENT AND LANDING. IT COVERS A WIDE RANGE OF EDL ENVIRONMENTS, IS STRUCTURALLY DETERMINATE, WITH MINIMAL AERO-ELASTIC ISSUES, AND WITH POSITIVE SEPARATION CHARACTERISTICS DURING JETTISON. DURING PHASE I OF THIS PROJECT, ANDREWS PROPOSES TO FURTHER ADVANCE THE OPERATIONAL PETAL BRAKE CONCEPT BY DESIGNING AND EVALUATING A POINT-OF-DEPARTURE PETAL-BRAKE DESIGN FOR MARS ENTRY, DEFINING A POTENTIAL TEST PROGRAM, THEN GENERATING A DETAILED SUBSCALE PETAL-BRAKE DESIGN SUITABLE FOR MANUFACTURE, WIND TUNNEL TESTING, AND HIGH ALTITUDE DEPLOYMENT TESTING IN PHASE II.