Atmosphere Entries with Vehicle Lift-Drag Ratio Modulated to Limit Deceleration and Rate of Deceleration: Vehicles with Maximum Lift-Drag Ratio of 0.5

Abstract

An analysis has been made of atmosphere entries for which the vehicle lift-drag ratio was modulated to maintain specified maximum decelerations and/or maximum deceleration rates. The part of the vehicle drag polar used during modulation was from maximum lift coefficient to minimum drag coefficient. The entries were at parabolic velocity and the vehicle maximum lift-drag ratio was 0.5. Two-dimensional trajectory calculations were made for a nonrotating, spherical earth with an exponential atmosphere. The results of the analysis indicate that for a given initial flight-path angle, modulation generally resulted in a reduction of the maximum deceleration to 60 percent of the unmodulated value or a reduction of maximum deceleration rate to less than 50 percent of the unmodulated rate. These results were equivalent, for a maximum deceleration of 10 g, to lowering the undershoot boundary 24 miles with a resulting decrease in total convective heating to the stagnation point of 22 percent. However, the maximum convective heating rate was increased 18 percent; the maximum radiative heating rate and total radiative heating were each increased about 10 percent