Atmospheric Considerations for Skipping Spaceplane Trajectories

Abstract

A mission to release a payload to low polar earth orbit by a conceptual Reusable Aero Space Vehicle (RASV) is considered for Monte Carlo atmospheric conditions. Atmospheres are applied to a baseline trajectory in which, after payload release, the spaceplane circumnavigates the globe and returns to its launch site by a boost glide maneuver (i.e., by skipping off the atmosphere) and the payload employs a small attached booster to put a satellite into a final orbit. Around-the-world RASV trajectories are found to be feasible under many atmospheric conditions; however, trajectory characteristics are found to vary substantially with atmospheric variations when a given set of fixed flight controls are used.

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Document Details

Document Type
Technical Report
Publication Date
Nov 14, 1997
Accession Number
ADA397882

Entities

People

  • David Stapleton
  • Francis Mcdougall
  • Terence Galati

Organizations

  • Air Force Research Laboratory

Tags

Communities of Interest

  • Space

DTIC Thesaurus Topics

  • Aerospaceplanes
  • Air Force
  • Air Force Research Laboratories
  • Altitude
  • Apogees
  • Atmosphere Models
  • Earth Orbits
  • Flight
  • Heat Energy
  • Military Research
  • Orbital Maneuvers
  • Orbits
  • Spacecraft
  • Standards
  • Trajectories
  • United States
  • Vehicles

Readers

  • Aerospace Engineering.
  • Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD)
  • Space/Atmospheric Physics.

Technology Areas

  • Space
  • Space - Orbital Debris
  • Space - Satellites