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Advanced Technology Development for Planetary Entry, Descent, and Landing
November 27, 2006 / 11 a.m. ET
Presented By: Dr. Walt Engelund and Dr. Neil Cheatwood
The current state-of-the-art in planetary entry, decent, and landing
(EDL) systems is derived primarily from a 30 year old technology set
developed for the Mars Viking Program, including the heritage
spherically blunted conical aeroshell geometry, ablative thermal
protection system material, and the supersonic disc-gap-band parachute.
Optimistic estimates predict that the current Viking derived EDL
architecture, which relies primarily on the technologies developed in
the 1960s and '70s, may be extensible to allow landed masses up to a
maximum of on the order of two metric tons as parachute diameters and
ballistic entry masses increase to limiting values.
Recent EDL architecture studies have revealed severe limitations in the
ability to soft land large masses on the surface of Mars, consistent
with human or large scale robotic precursor missions. An overview of the
current suite of EDL technologies is provided, followed by a discussion
of a set of candidate technologies that may provide the enabling
capabilities required for large mass EDL at Earth, Mars, and other
planets with atmospheres. Several of these large mission-class enabling
technologies, including inflatable aerodynamic decelerators, are
currently being studied in the Fundamental Aeronautics Program, and a
brief review of the current status and future plans is provided.
+ See Full Technical Seminar Series Schedule
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