Effects of thrust vector control on the performance of the aerobang orbital plane change maneuver

• Main Author: Johnson, Richard E.
• Other Authors: Ross, I. Michael
• Language: en_US
• Published: Monterey, California. Naval Postgraduate School 2013
• Online Access: http://hdl.handle.net/10945/25887

The aerobang maneuver, one of three types of aero-assisted orbital change methods, holds the possibility of reducing fuel consumption for orbital craft capable of atmospheric entry. It has been previously shown that different types of vehicles provide varying results over a constant heating rate trajectory. Further investigation into the optimization of the aerobang maneuver in this thesis includes the effects of using thrust vector control, the examination of the effects of increasing fuel mass fraction to increase orbital inclination changes, and the effects of that increase on both angle of attack and heating rate. The aerobang maneuver is shown to be capable of significant changes in orbital inclination in either a fixed heating rate or a fixed angle of attack mode for the Maneuverable Reentry Research Vehicle