OSIRIS-REx Earth Return & Entry: Targeting Strategy and Maneuver Performance

Abstract

The OSIRIS-REx sample return capsule landed safely in the Utah desert on September 24, 2023. Starting with the departure from asteroid Bennu in May 2021 through the release of the sample capsule and its arrival at the edge of Earth’s atmosphere hours later, this phase of the mission was planned and analyzed thoroughly to optimize the probability of a successful sample return in a large number of nominal and off-nominal scenarios, all while emphasizing spacecraft safety. This paper discusses the spacecraft and sample capsule Earth return and atmospheric entry trajectory design, maneuver analysis, and flight performance, which ultimately helped lead to a successful sample return and initiation of the OSIRIS-APEX extended mission.