Passive method to measure reentry radiation in the presence of ablative products

Bailet, G. , Denis, A., Bourgoing, A., Magin, T. E. and Laux, C. O. (2021) Passive method to measure reentry radiation in the presence of ablative products. Journal of Spacecraft and Rockets, 58(5), pp. 1477-1486. (doi: 10.2514/1.A34969)

Abstract

Reentry radiation is one of the key phenomena to take into account while designing an Entry Descent and Landing (EDL) phase for sample return and some gas/ice giants’ missions. In the case of an ablative thermal protective system (TPS), the physicochemical processes involved produce a large amount of dust and phenolic gases that can obstruct the optical path. The QubeSat for Atmospheric Research and Measurement on Ablation mission (5.2 kg CubeSat launched in December 2019) gave a low-cost opportunity to develop a dedicated payload named “Imbedded Nano-platform-size Emission Spectrometer” (INES) to study the radiation of a reentry plasma in the presence of an ablative heatshield (Cork P50 from Amorim™). The payload is able to measure both radiation and thickness evolution of the TPS at the same location. The paper presents a passive method to prevent any contamination of the optical path from the ablative TPS to be able to measure radiation for a wide range of mission profiles and heatshield locations.

• Item Type: Articles
• Additional Information: G.B. has received funding for this work from the Association nationale de la recherche et de la technologie (ANRT) with the ArianeGroup Convention industrielle de formation par la recherche (CIFRE) grant #0064/2013, and the QubeSat for Atmospheric Research and Measurement on Ablation (QARMAN) project was supported by an European Space Agency (ESA) General Support Technology Programme (GSTP) grant #4000109824/13/NL/MH.
• Status: Published
• Refereed: Yes
• Glasgow Author(s) Enlighten ID: BAILET, Dr Rer Nat Gilles
• Authors: Bailet, G., Denis, A., Bourgoing, A., Magin, T. E., and Laux, C. O.
• College/School: College of Science and Engineering > School of Engineering > Systems Power and Energy
• Journal Name: Journal of Spacecraft and Rockets
• Publisher: American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics
• ISSN: 0022-4650
• ISSN (Online): 1533-6794
• Published Online: 07 July 2021
• Copyright Holders: Copyright © 2021 American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics
• First Published: First published in Journal of Spacecraft and Rockets 58(5): 1477-1486
• Publisher Policy: Reproduced in accordance with the copyright policy of the publisher