Comparison of Reentry Breakup Measurements for Three Atmospheric Reentries

Reentry breakup data were collected during atmospheric reentries of Japan's H-II Transfer Vehicles HTV2 and HTV3 and the European Space Agency's ATV-3 vehicle. The three vehicles were used to carry supplies to the International Space Station and were directed to reenter the atmosphere such that surviving debris would land in the South Pacific Ocean. They were also used as demonstration flights for the Reentry Breakup Recorder (REBR), a device designed to collect reentry breakup data, to survive reentry, and to transmit the data prior to earth impact. The collected data are unique for reentries of unprotected objects and include rotational rates and accelerations from the reentry point through breakup and release of the REBR, as well as information on REBR's internal pressure, heat shield temperatures, and component temperatures. Once released by breakup of the host vehicle, REBR also collected GPS data providing impact locations of each device. The REBR devices were released within an altitude range of 68-66 km for all three reentries. The paper compares REBR data for these three reentries and includes an overview of REBR and plans for its evolution.