Comparative Study of Phasing, Atmospheric Skip Entry, and Simple Plane Change Maneuvers

Abstract

A suite of maneuvers comprising planar phasing, out-of-plane skip entry, and simple plane changes is simulated for a notional transatmospheric, lifting reentry vehicle with lift-to-drag ratio of six. By comparing the relative performance of each maneuver by overflying geographically diverse sample ground targets, it is demonstrated that skip entry maneuvers require a total less than . For select targets and a single initial reference orbit, simulation results demonstrate a significant savings in expenditure for skip entry compared with the simple plane change alternative. Overall, the simulated skip entry maneuvers consistently provide responsive mission execution in terms of ground target time of arrival, with maximum deceleration and stagnation heat flux less than and , respectively.