Development and Validation of Reentry Simulation Using MATLAB

Abstract

This research effort develops a program using MATLAB to solve the equations of motion for atmospheric reentry and analyzes the validity of the program for use as a tool to expeditiously predict reentry profiles. The reentry vehicle is modeled as a point mass with constant aerodynamic properties as defined by the user. The equations of motion for reentry are based on the two-body problem. The atmosphere is modeled as a single layer exponentially decreasing in density. The MATLAB program has the ability to derive the initial trajectory conditions from the position and velocity relative to the rotating surface of the Earth, the Earth-centered inertial position and velocity, or the classic orbital elements. The program is compared to previously established programs in order to validate its accuracy and numerical stability when predicting various reentry profiles to include sub-orbital, super-circular and hyperbolic trajectories as well as wide ranges of aerodynamic properties.

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Document Details

Document Type
Technical Report
Publication Date
Mar 01, 2006
Accession Number
ADA453604

Entities

People

  • Robert E. Jameson Jr.

Organizations

  • Air Force Institute of Technology

Tags

Communities of Interest

  • Weapons Technologies

DTIC Thesaurus Topics

  • Air Force
  • Angular Momentum
  • Atmosphere Entry
  • C Programming Language
  • Computer Programming
  • Coordinate Systems
  • Differential Equations
  • Equations
  • Equations Of Motion
  • Graphical User Interface
  • Orbital Elements
  • Reentry Vehicles
  • Shape
  • Simulations
  • Trajectories
  • Vehicles
  • World Geodetic System

Readers

  • Database Systems and Applications
  • Space Exploration and Orbital Mechanics.

Technology Areas

  • Space
  • Space - Orbital Debris