  Aerocapture is the technique of using planetary atmospheres to decelerate a
spacecraft in a single pass to achieve nearly fuel-free orbit insertion.
Aerocapture has been extensively studied since the 1980s but has never been
flown yet. The entry conditions encountered during aerocapture are strongly
destination dependent, and performance benefit offered by aerocapture is also
destination dependent. Aerocapture is applicable to all atmosphere-bearing
destinations with the exception of Jupiter and Saturn, whose extreme entry
conditions make aerocapture infeasible. A recent study by the NASA Science
Mission Directorate highlighted the need for baseline design reference
missions, as a starting point for system level architecture studies. The
present study uses the Aerocapture Mission Analysis Tool (AMAT) to compile a
list of design reference missions at Venus, Earth, Mars, Titan, Uranus, and
Neptune. These reference missions can provide an initial assessment of the
feasibility of aerocapture for a proposed mission, and provide intial baseline
values for more detailed system studies. The reference mission set provides a
quick estimate of the entry conditions, control requirements, and aero-thermal
loads for architectural level studies.
