The influence of scattering gas states on aerothermodynamic properties of space fragments formed during Tianzhou-5 freighter reentry

The work is devoted to researching the effects of reflected gas molecules’ states on aerodynamic properties and surface characteristic quantities distributions. Within the framework of GUKA, the Maxwellian type gas surface interaction model is implemented. After the validation of the GKUA in representative cases, the simple geometry model is initially introduced to study the variations of aerodynamic properties with different gas molecules states. Then the simulations around simplified Tianzhou-5 cargo spacecraft and its symbolic components are conducted at typical reentry trajectory points. The results are useful to predict the disintegration trajectories and evaluate the distributions of survival spacecraft objects falling down the ground.