Since the beginning of robotic interplanetary exploration nearly six decades
ago, successful atmospheric entry has been accomplished at Venus, Earth, Mars,
Jupiter, and Titan. More entry probe missions are planned to Venus, Titan, and
Uranus in the next decade. Atmospheric entry subjects the vehicle to rapid
deceleration and aerothermal loads which the vehicle must be designed for, to
deliver the robotic instruments inside the atmosphere. The design of planetary
probes and their mission architecture is complex, and involves various
engineering constraints such as peak deceleration, heating rate, heating load,
and communications which must be satisfied within the budget and schedule of
cost constrained mission opportunities. Engineering design data from previous
entry probe missions serve as a valuable reference for designing future
missions. The present study compiles an augmented version of the blue book
entry probe dataset, performs a comparative analysis of the entry conditions,
and provides engineering rules of thumb for design of future missions. Using
the dataset, the present study proposes a new empirical correlation which aims
to more accurately predict the thermal protection system mass fraction for high
heat load conditions during entry and aerocapture at Uranus and Neptune.Comment: 15 pages, 15 figure