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Static attitude stability of deep space sample return capsule with thin aeroshell

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Abstract

A sample return mission to deep space has been proposed. The orbital velocity of the deep space sample return capsule (DS-SRC) during atmospheric entry reaches 15 km/s, which results in extremely severe aerodynamic heating to the sample return capsule. We proposed a new concept of the DS-SRC with a lightweight and large-area aeroshell to reduce the severe heating environment at high altitudes through efficient aero-deceleration. The DS-SRC must be aerodynamically stable at all speeds because it is expected to be operated without a parachute at atmospheric entry. First, we showed the flight environment of the DS-SRC along the atmospheric entry trajectory obtained by trajectory analysis. Second, we investigated the aerodynamic characteristics and the static stability in the all-speed range using low-speed, transonic, and supersonic wind tunnels. Last, we used a computational science approach to conduct unsteady turbulent flow simulations to show its stability mechanism. The trajectory analysis indicated that the peak heat flux at the stagnation point of the capsule was kept approximately 10 MW/m2 when decelerating from high altitude because of its low ballistic coefficient. Based on the wind tunnel experimental results, we confirmed that this capsule is statically stable in attitude at all speeds. Furthermore, the computed results suggested that there is a difference in pressures at the windward and leeward sides of the front surface when the capsule is pitched up or down. This difference in pressure distribution acts as a static stability mechanism generating a moment in the direction that restores the pitching motion.

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Data availability

The data that support the findings of this study are available from the corresponding author or co-author upon reasonable request.

Abbreviations

C :

Aerodynamic coefficient

C s :

Smagorinsky constant

C w :

Empirical constant of Smagorinsky model

D :

Distance from wall, m

g :

Gravity acceleration, m/s2

S ij :

Strain-rate tensor, s–1

Δ:

Grid scale

k :

Von Karman constant

μ :

Viscosity, N s/m2

ρ:

Density, kg/m3

D :

Drag

L :

Lift

M :

Pitching moment

P :

Pressure

SGS:

Sub grid scale

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Acknowledgements

This study was supported by JSPS KAKENHI (Grant No.20H02360) and JST SPRING (Grant Number JPMJSP2119). We used the computational resources of the Grand Chariot computer provided by Hokkaido University and the supercomputer Fugaku provided by the RIKEN Center for Computational Science (Project ID: hp210266). The wind tunnel experiments were conducted at a low-speed wind tunnel facility, transonic wind tunnel, and supersonic wind tunnel provided by the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency as an inter-university research institute facility (Project ID: LWT2-20-01, W20-001). We also appreciate the LWT2 team and the optical measurement team of JAXA for their technical supports on the series of wind tunnel experiments (LWT2-21-19/OPT-21-11-06).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Division of Mechanical and Space Engineering, Hokkaido University, Kita 13 Nishi 8, Kita-Ku, Sapporo, Hokkaido, 060-8628, Japan

    Hideto Takasawa & Yusuke Takahashi

  2. Department of Applied Mechanics and Aerospace Engineering, Waseda University, 3-4-1 Okubo, Shinjuku, Tokyo, 169-8555, Japan

    Tomoya Fujii

  3. Institute of Space and Astronautical Science, Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency, 3-1-1 Yoshinodai Chuo-Ku, Sagamihara, Kanagawa, 252-5210, Japan

    Yasunori Nagata & Kazuhiko Yamada

  4. Research and Development Directorate, Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency, 3-1-1 Yoshinodai Chuo-Ku, Sagamihara, Kanagawa, 252-5210, Japan

    Hiroki Takayanagi

  5. Department of Aeronautics, Kanazawa Institute of Technology, 7-1 Ohgigaoka, Nonoichi, Ishikawa, 921-8501, Japan

    Takahiro Moriyoshi

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  1. Hideto Takasawa
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  2. Tomoya Fujii
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Correspondence to Hideto Takasawa.

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Takasawa, H., Fujii, T., Takahashi, Y. et al. Static attitude stability of deep space sample return capsule with thin aeroshell. CEAS Space J (2024). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12567-024-00551-1

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