Orbit plane rotation using aerocapture

An investigation is conducted into the feasibility of intentionally performing large orbit plane rotations during aerocapture maneuvers. Three degrees-of-freedom bounding trajectories at Mars are propagated for a range of vehicle lift to drag ratios (L/D) and hyperbolic arrival velocities (v_∞). The results show that the maximum plane rotation achievable increases with vehicle L/D and v_∞. When arriving with v_∞ of 6 km/s, vehicles with L/D of 0.25 and 1.0 can achieve plane rotations of up to 11.6^◦ and 45.3^◦, respectively. Heat rate, heat load, and g-loading constraints identified when rotating orbital plane are not more severe than those observed for two-dimensional aerocapture at a given L/D and v_∞. A direct tradeoff between the maximum plane rotation and entry corridor width exists that will affect the ability of lower L/D vehicles to achieve large plane rotations. The proposed maneuver can allow the captured orbit inclination and right ascension of the ascending node to be altered in ways that are not possible using typical interplanetary orbit targeting methods. Further, the maneuver offers the possibility of deploying multiple satellites to different orbits around a target destination using a single launch or approach path.