The strategy for the second phase of aerobraking mars global surveyor

摘要

On February 19, 1999, the Mars Globla Surveyor (MGS) spacecraft was able to propulsively establish its mapping orbit. This event followed the completion of an extended orbit insertion phase that was characterized by two distinct periods of aerobraking. During the second period of aerobraking, called "Aerobraking Phase 2", the orbit period of the spacecraft was reduced from 11.6 hours to 2 hours in just over four months. This paper focuses on and describes the strategy developed for the second pahse of aerobraking MGS. This description includes the baseline aerobraking flight profile and the key trajectory metrics that were monitored in order to successfully guide the spacecraft to its desired mapping orbit. Additionally, the planned aerobraking flight profile is compared to the actual aerobraking (trajectory) results.