Modelling of CubeSat satellite motion with inflatable braking device. Part 1. Determination of aerodynamic characteristics and trajectory parameters

The article is devoted to the analysis of loading of the inflatable spherical shell of the braking device of a CubeSat 1U microsatellite during its descent from a 500 km high operational orbit. An iterative approach combining the interrelated processes of numerical modelling of the flow and determination of the descent trajectory parameters of the inflatable braking device was developed. Using the approach, the state of the shell under free-molecular gas flow was investigated, the pressure fields and heat flux density on the shell surface were determined using OpenFoam, and the dependences of aerodynamic coefficients on altitude and flight speed were determined. To verify the validity of the results obtained by modelling in OpenFoam, an additional study in Ansys Fluent was performed. The comparative analysis demonstrated good convergence of the results of two independent computational methods, which confirms the correctness of the calculations. The obtained data were used in the construction of a mathematical model of motion of the ‘microsatellite-NTU’ bundle in Comsol MultiPhysics. As a result, the trajectory profile was obtained at the section of the bundle descent from the working altitude of 500 km to the upper boundary of the Earth’s atmosphere of 100 km. The results obtained can be used for further analyses of the stress-strain and temperature state of the bundle.
EDN: UHUJOL, https://elibrary/uhujol

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