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Dragonfly: An Evaluation of the Unsteady Aerodynamics of Heatshield Separation on Titan

  • Edward Clutter
  • , Michael Kinzel

    Research output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceedingConference contribution

    Abstract

    Space exploration vehicles, such as Mars exploration rover and the Dragonfly rotorcraft lander, demand delivery into the atmosphere of celestial bodies. Dragonfly, for example, will be delivered to Saturn’s moon Titan encapsulated between an aeroshell and a heatshield. Upon entering the atmosphere, the heatshield will be jettisoned to allow for the deployment of the lander. This paper uses CFD to characterize the aerodynamic loads experienced by the aeroshell-lander sub-assembly as a result of the heatshield separation. A set of dynamic unsteady computational fluid dynamics results are presented which describe this effect.

    Original languageEnglish (US)
    Title of host publicationAIAA Science and Technology Forum and Exposition, AIAA SciTech Forum 2025
    PublisherAmerican Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics Inc, AIAA
    ISBN (Print)9781624107238
    DOIs
    StatePublished - 2025
    EventAIAA Science and Technology Forum and Exposition, AIAA SciTech Forum 2025 - Orlando, United States
    Duration: Jan 6 2025Jan 10 2025

    Publication series

    NameAIAA Science and Technology Forum and Exposition, AIAA SciTech Forum 2025

    Conference

    ConferenceAIAA Science and Technology Forum and Exposition, AIAA SciTech Forum 2025
    Country/TerritoryUnited States
    CityOrlando
    Period1/6/251/10/25

    All Science Journal Classification (ASJC) codes

    • Aerospace Engineering

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