Atmospheric Entry Performance of the Hercules Single-Stage Reusable Vehicle at Earth

Author

Braxton Lott Brakefield, University of TennesseeFollow

Date of Award

12-2019

Degree Type

Thesis

Degree Name

Master of Science

Major

Aerospace Engineering

Major Professor

James Evans Lyne

Committee Members

Zhili Zhang, John Schmisseur

Abstract

The Hercules Single-Stage Reusable Vehicle (HSRV) is an innovative rocket that has been designed for use at Mars. However, with the renewed focus on returning to the moon first, it has been proposed to use the Hercules design for missions in the Earth-Moon system. To test its reentry performance, 9 types of entries were simulated, with multiple sensitivity cases for each. Overall, the current design of the vehicle is able to return to Earth safely for a wide range of different entry conditions, but some improvements could be made to optimize the vehicle for Earth operations.

Recommended Citation

Brakefield, Braxton Lott, "Atmospheric Entry Performance of the Hercules Single-Stage Reusable Vehicle at Earth. " Master's Thesis, University of Tennessee, 2019.
https://trace.tennessee.edu/utk_gradthes/5521