TY - GEN
T1 - Pterodactyl
AU - Hays, Zane B.
AU - Yount, Bryan C.
AU - Nikaido, Ben E.
AU - Tran, Jason
AU - D’souza, Sarah N.
AU - Kinney, David J.
AU - McGuire, M. Kathleen
N1 - Funding Information:
The authors of this paper would like to thank NASA Space Technology Mission Directorate’s Early Career Initiative (ECI) program for guiding and funding this work. Specifically, the ECI Program Executive Ricky Howard and our ECI mentor Michelle Munk. We would also like to thank our collaborators in the Engineering Systems Division, Thermal Protection Materials Branch, and Entry Systems and Vehicle Development Branch at NASA Ames Research Center: Antonella Alunni, Alan Cassell, Don Ellerby, Milad Mahzari, Frank Milos, Owen Nishioka, and Keith Peterson.
Funding Information:
The authors of this paper would like to thank NASA Space Technology Mission Directorate?s Early Career Initiative (ECI) program for guiding and funding this work. Specifically, the ECI Program Executive Ricky Howard and our ECI mentor Michelle Munk. We would also like to thank our collaborators in the Engineering Systems Division, Thermal Protection Materials Branch, and Entry Systems and Vehicle Development Branch at NASA Ames Research Center: Antonella Alunni, Alan Cassell, Don Ellerby, Milad Mahzari, Frank Milos, Owen Nishioka, and Keith Peterson.
Publisher Copyright:
© 2020 American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics Inc, AIAA. All rights reserved.
PY - 2020
Y1 - 2020
N2 - The need for precision landing of high mass payloads on Mars and the return of sensitive samples from other planetary bodies to specific locations on Earth is driving the development of an innovative NASA technology referred to as the Deployable Entry Vehicle (DEV). A DEV has the potential to deliver an equivalent science payload with a stowed diameter 3 to 4 times smaller than a traditional rigid capsule configuration. However, the DEV design does not easily lend itself to traditional methods of directional control. The NASA Space Technology Mission Directorate (STMD)’s Pterodactyl project is currently investigating the effectiveness of three different Guidance and Control (G&C) systems – actuated flaps, Center of Gravity (CG) or mass movement, and Reaction Control System (RCS) – for use with a DEV using the Adaptable, Deployable, Entry, and Placement Technology (ADEPT) design. This paper details the Thermal Protection System (TPS) design and associated mass estimation efforts for each of the G&C systems. TPS is needed for the nose cap of the DEV and the flaps of the actuated flap control system. The development of a TPS selection, sizing, and mass estimation method designed to deal with the varying requirements for the G&C options throughout the trajectory is presented. Specifically, this paper discusses the methods used to i) obtain heating environments throughout the trajectory with respect to the chosen control system and resulting geometry; ii) determine a suitable TPS material; iii) produce TPS thickness estimations; and, iv) determine the final TPS mass estimation based on TPS thickness, vehicle control system, vehicle structure, and vehicle payload.
AB - The need for precision landing of high mass payloads on Mars and the return of sensitive samples from other planetary bodies to specific locations on Earth is driving the development of an innovative NASA technology referred to as the Deployable Entry Vehicle (DEV). A DEV has the potential to deliver an equivalent science payload with a stowed diameter 3 to 4 times smaller than a traditional rigid capsule configuration. However, the DEV design does not easily lend itself to traditional methods of directional control. The NASA Space Technology Mission Directorate (STMD)’s Pterodactyl project is currently investigating the effectiveness of three different Guidance and Control (G&C) systems – actuated flaps, Center of Gravity (CG) or mass movement, and Reaction Control System (RCS) – for use with a DEV using the Adaptable, Deployable, Entry, and Placement Technology (ADEPT) design. This paper details the Thermal Protection System (TPS) design and associated mass estimation efforts for each of the G&C systems. TPS is needed for the nose cap of the DEV and the flaps of the actuated flap control system. The development of a TPS selection, sizing, and mass estimation method designed to deal with the varying requirements for the G&C options throughout the trajectory is presented. Specifically, this paper discusses the methods used to i) obtain heating environments throughout the trajectory with respect to the chosen control system and resulting geometry; ii) determine a suitable TPS material; iii) produce TPS thickness estimations; and, iv) determine the final TPS mass estimation based on TPS thickness, vehicle control system, vehicle structure, and vehicle payload.
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85091745655&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.2514/6.2020-1013
DO - 10.2514/6.2020-1013
M3 - Conference contribution
AN - SCOPUS:85091745655
SN - 9781624105951
T3 - AIAA Scitech 2020 Forum
SP - 1
EP - 15
BT - AIAA Scitech 2020 Forum
PB - American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics Inc, AIAA
Y2 - 6 January 2020 through 10 January 2020
ER -