Abstract
The purpose of this paper is to conduct a feasibility study on the use of aerodynamic control for the reentry maneuver of a low-Earth-orbit (LEO) microsatellite. The equations of motion for the Earth-satellite system with the action of aerodynamic forces are derived first. The microsatellite is assumed to fly in the exosphere where the air density is very low. To determine the aerodynmic force and heating rate acting on the microsatellite the rarefied gas model is adopted. Upon the analysis of the flight path history of the microsatellite and the aerodynamic heating rate as function of the altitude, it is found that the microsatellite can be destroyed by the proposed aerodynamic controlled reentry maneuver.
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Chern, JS., Sheu, DL. (2000). A Preliminary Study on Aeroassisted Reentry of an LEO Microsatellite. In: Miau, JJ., Holdaway, R. (eds) Reducing the Cost of Spacecraft Ground Systems and Operations. Space Technology Proceedings, vol 3. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-015-9395-3_24
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-015-9395-3_24
Publisher Name: Springer, Dordrecht
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