Venus Express End of Life Operations: Or the Art of Saying Good-Bye

摘要

1 Introduction Venus Express was launched in November 2005 to study the atmosphere of Venus, the interaction with its surface and its interplanetary environment (i.e., solar winds). The probe performed a successful Orbit insertion followed by a series of orbit correction maneuvers to achieve the anticipated 24-h orbit in April 2006. The Attitude and Orbit Control System (AOCS) had been equipped with the Braking Mode (BM) that allows Aerobraking in case of a main engine failure during orbit correction and for later scientific studies. Aerobraking is a technique wherein an orbiting spacecraft brushes against the top of a planetary atmosphere. The friction and pressure forces of the atmosphere against the surface of the spacecraft dissipate the kinetic energy slowing down the velocity, thus, lowering the craft's orbital altitude. The spacecraft heat is radiated to space between successive passes [1].