Numerical Investigations of Precise Wind Field in Main Landing Area during the Landing Phase of “Shen Zhou” Series Spacecraft Mission

Abstract

Wind is one of the main factors raising errors in the spacecraft’s landing phase. As a result, an accurate description of incoming wind conditions is supposed to be a prerequisite for reliable parafoil trajectory planning. This work utilizes the Weather Research Forecast (WRF) model system with efficient parameterization schemes to reproduce the wind field in the main landing area during the landing phase of the “Shen Zhou” series spacecraft mission. In comparison with observational data from several cases, it is validated that the WRF model has the potential to give an accurate imitation of wind behaviors and is expected to be an alternative technique for costly and time-consuming experimental undertakings. Based on the numerical results, a linear model is proposed in the current work, which is applicable to the altitude range, specifically for parafoil trajectory planning. It is validated by comparisons with observational wind properties from radio-sounding stations. In addition, a sixth-order polynomial model is introduced for comparison as well. The results show that the current proposed model has both the characteristics of a simple form and good accuracy. It shows overall better consistency with observational data than the sixth-order polynomial model.

Keywords

• numerical investigations
• wind field
• “Shen Zhou” series spacecraft
• WRF model system
• simplified linear model