Conceptual Design of a Small Earth Reentry Vehicle for Biological Sample Return

Abstract

A conceptual design of an Earth return vehicle is presented with the goal of safely returning biological samples from orbit. Key entry, descent, and landing trade studies were completed at the conceptual level for two different mission scenarios: return from the International Space Station and an autonomous, free-flying vehicle returning from low Earth orbit. The analyses that follow for each key subsystem drove design decisions to create the Biopan Deployment in Orbit for Microgravity Exposure vehicle with the versatility to satisfy both of the aforementioned mission scenarios. The final design features a ballistic entry, a 45 deg sphere–cone aeroshell with a diameter of 88 cm, a phenolic impregnated carbon ablator heat shield with a thickness of 7.7 cm, and a passive landing system containing an 8-m-diam ringsail parachute combined with a 7.8-cm-thick crushable carbon foam. Analysis of the vehicle performance verified survivability of biological samples due to heat and deceleration loads from entry. Trajectory dispersion analysis yielded crossrange and downrange limited to and , respectively, whereas landing velocity was confirmed to be for all cases.