Study of a descent system for atmospheric re-entry and landing of space vehicles

Abstract

The Space RIDER (Space Reusable Integrated Demonstrator for Europe Return) is an unmanned orbital spacecraft vehicle that will provide the European Space Agency (ESA) with a reusable integrated space transportation system for routine access and return from low earth orbit. The project is mainly led by the Italian PRIDE (Programme for Reusable In-orbit Demonstrator in Europe) program in collaboration with companies such as Thales Alenia and ESA. The inaugural flight is scheduled for 2022. The objective in the present work is to develope a 6 DoF flight simulator to analyze the atmospheric descent and landing of the Space RIDER vehicle. The study will focus on the low subsonic descent stage. A maneuverable parafoil will be used for guiding autonomously the vehicle to the target touchdown point.