Parametric Study of Aerocapture for Missions to Venus

Abstract

A parametric study has been conducted of aerocapture for missions to Venus, examining the entry corridor width as a function of entry velocity, vehicle aerodynamics, and atmospheric density dispersions. The corridor width is found to exceed 1 deg for low lift-to-drag configurations such as an Apollo capsule. For a vehicle with a ballistic coefficient of 78 kg/m 2 and an entry speed of 12 km/s, preliminary calculations indicate that midcorridor trajectories will produce peak stagnation-point heating rates approximately 30% higher than those encountered on Apollo lunar return. Trajectories with modest deceleration loads (under 20 g) and reasonable postaerocapture propulsive requirements were readily identified. Aerocapture is found to merit further study for its potential application on future missions to Venus.