Aerocapture for the Outer Planets

Carolyn Mercer

NASA NTRS · 20240008851

Aerocapture for the Outer Planets

Abstract

Aerocapture is an orbital insertion technique which uses a single pass through a planetary atmosphere to dissipate enough orbital energy for planetary capture. It can deliver large orbit insertion ΔVs with minimum fuel, resulting in significant reductions in transit time and/or increases in science payload mass.

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Carolyn Mercer. Aerocapture for the Outer Planets. https://ntrs.nasa.gov/citations/20240008851

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