DOCSLIB.ORG

Developing and Flight Testing the HL-IO Lifting.- ..Body: a Precursor to the Space Shuttle

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
Developing and Flight Testing the HL-IO Lifting.- ..Body: a Precursor to the Space Shuttle //V-o NASA _rence .t Publication 1332 April 1994 • Developing and Flight Testing the HL-IO Lifting.- ..Body: A Precursor to the Space Shuttle Robert W. Kempel, Weneth D. Painter, and Milton O. Thompson fr z (NASA-RP-1332) DEVELOPING ANO N94-34703 FLIGHT TESTING THE HL-IO LI_TING BODY: A PRECURSOR TO THE SPACE SHUTTLE (NASA. Dryden Flight Unclas ! Research Facility) 56 p HI/05 0008486 m . -__ ------; 2 | | m . m T • • " . • • r - . u . i NASA Reference Publication 1332 1994 Developing and Flight Testing the HL- 10 Lifting Body: A Precursor to the Space Shuttle Robert W. Kempel PRC Inc., Edwards, California Weneth D. Painter National Test Pilot School, Mojave, California Milton O. Thompson Dryden Flight Research Center Edwards, California National Aeronautics and Space Administration Office of Management Scientific and Technical Information Program _-! CONTENTS ABSTRACT NOMENCLATURE INTRODUCTION 1 Lifting-Body Concept .......................................................... • .......... 2 Brief Area Description and Some History .................................................... 4 GETTING STARTED 5 CONFIGURING THE HL-10 7 Concept and Early Configuration ........................................................... 7 Final Configuration ..................................................................... 10 FLIGHT VEHICLE DESCRIPTION 13 FLIGHT VEHICLE MISSION 17 FLIGHT TEST PREPARATION 19 M2-F2 Team .......................................................................... 20 HL- 10 Team .......................................................................... 21 FLIGHT TESTING 22 22 The Maiden Flight ..................................................................... 1 Postflight Analysis ..................................................................... 23 The Second Hight ...................................................................... 28 Simulation of the HL-10 ................................................................. 29 The First Lifting-Body Powered Hight ..................................................... 30 30 The First Supersonic Lifting-Body Flight ................................................... The Fastest and the Highest .............................................................. 32 Flight-Determined Lift and Drag .......................................................... 32 i J The Best Hying of the Lifting Bodies ...................................................... 33 i Piloting the I-IL-10 ..................................................................... 33 ! Vehicle Dynamics, Control, and Turbulence Response ......................................... 36 ! Training for and Hying Chase for Lifting-Body Missions ....................................... 37 ! The Final Flights ....................................................................... 38 Pilots Participating in the Program ......................................................... 38 THE FUTURE AND LEGACY OF LIFTING BODIES 4O SIGNIFICANT ACCOMPLISHMENTS AND LESSONS LEARNED 41 CONCLUDING REMARKS 42 REFERENCES 43 iii P__ PA_E BLANK NOT FtLM_D 45 APPENDIX A Glossary ............................................................................. 45 47 APPENDIX B 47 The HL-10 Lifting-Body Team ........................................................... 48 APPENDIX C 48 Bibliography .......................................................................... r =__ I -- i iv ABOUT THE AUTHORS Robert W. Kempel Weneth D. Painter Milton O. Thompson 1926-1993 Robert W. Kempel is currently a senior aerospace engi- technology, NASA/Navy XV-15 tilt rotor, AD-1 oblique neer with PRC Inc. assigned to the NASA Dryden Flight wing airplane, B-57 severe storms project, and the rotor sys- Research Center at Edwards, California. Mr. Kempel has tems research aircraft. Mr. Painter is a certified flight instruc- been associated with PRC Inc. since his retirement from tor with more than 4,000 flying hours. In his capacity at the NASA Dryden in 1986. A native of Detroit, Michigan, Mr. National Test Pilot School, he has taught students from many Kempers aerospace career has spanned more that 32 years. countries including Indonesia, Taiwan, and South Africa. Mr. Mr. Kempel joined the X-15 Hypersonic Research Airplane Painter is a member of the Society of Flight Test Engineers. flight test team at the NASA High-Speed Flight Station He is the author of numerous formal NASA publications and (which was later to become NASA Dryden) in 1960. One of symposium papers as well as the recipient of numerous the many highlights of Mr. Kempel's career included the awards. Mr. Painter and his wife, JoAnn, live adjacent to the responsibility as the principal stability and control, handling Mojave airport where they have a flying business. qualities, and flight simulation engineer on the experimental Milton O. Thompson, former NASA Dryden Chief Engi- rocket-powered HL-10 and M2-F3 lifting-body flight neer, supported and encouraged the generation of this work. : research programs. More recently, he served as the remotely In addition, he provided many outstanding suggestions and piloted vehicle systems manager/integrator on such pro- useful comments. As was indicated earlier, Mr. Thompson grams as the highly maneuverable advanced technology flew the first lightweight and heavyweight M2 vehicles. The (HiMAT) remotely piloted vehicle and the remotely con- first heavyweight lifting-body flight, the M2-F2, took place trolled Boeing 720 impact demonstration (controlled crash) on July 12, 1966 with Mr. Thompson at the controls. Without program. Mr. Kempel is a member of the Society of Flight his vision, we may have never seen the success of the space Test Engineers. He is the author of numerous formal NASA shuttle. On August 3, 1993, Mr. Thompson completed his publications and symposium papers as well as the recipient final editorial review of this work. His final comments were of numerous awards. included and the manuscript was ready for publication prep- Weneth D. Painter is currently a senior flight test instruc- aration by the NASA editorial staff. On the evening of tor at the National Test Pilot School at Mojave, California. In August 6, 1993, NASA planned a dinner celebration in addition, Mr. Painter has taught at the California State Poly- honor of Mr. Thompson. This was to be a tribute to Mr. -..,..___ technic University following his retirement from NASA Thompson by all of NASA, his friends, and colleagues. _" Dryden in 1986. A native of Nebraska, Mr. Painter's aero- However, on the morning of August 6, Mr. Thompson passed space career has spanned more that 30 years. Mr. Painter from this life. At the tribute we remembered the 37 years of joined the NASA Flight Research Center, which was later to NACA/NASA service he rendered as a true professional and become NASA Dryden, in 1963. Mr. Painter worked on a as an aerospace pioneer. We remembered him as a friend and variety of flight test programs including the F-100C variable we remembered him as a visionary. We are the richer for stability airplane; M2-F2, HL-10, and X-24A lifting bodies; having known him and the poorer with losing him. Mih, we i and F-8 supercritical wing. Mr. Painter was program salute you. manager on such projects as the F-Ill transonic aircraft FOREWORD Others may be more qualified to relate the story of the birth of the HL-10; however, we have included a The story we want to tell is a bit unique. The story of section that presents some insight that may not exist the development and flight testing of a unique aero- elsewhere. This section was compiled using some space vehicle--the horizontal lander HL-10---is from unpublished notes of Robert W. Rainey and Charles L. Ladson of NASA Langley Research Center. History our perspective as primary members of the flight test team at the NASA Flight Research Center (now NASA written by those who did not participate in the events Dryden Flight Research Center). Mr. Kempel was with themselves may be inclined to be muted, and this may the program eight months before the first flight and be the case with this section. Many unnamed pilots, continued through the final (37th) flight. Mr. Painter's engineers, technicians, mechanics, and support person- association with the HL-10 began approximately three nel made this program work. The successes of the HL-10 were the result of efforts of the entire team, real years before the first flight and continued through the final flight. Mr. Thompson flew the first lightweight people. People made it work. The impressions of the and heavyweight M2 vehicles. The first heavyweight flight operations are ours and we got some help from lifting-body flight, the M2-F2, took place on July 12, others who lived it too. We hope, after reading it, that 1966, with Mr. Thompson at the controls. you will also think it is a story worth telling. J \ vi ABSTRACT MSL mean sea level, ft The origins of the lifting-body idea are traced back NACA National Advisory Committee for to the mid-1950s, when the concept of a manned satel- Aeronautics lite reentering the Earth's atmosphere in the form of a NASA wingless lifting body was first proposed. The advan- National Aeronautics and Space Administration tages of low reentry deceleration loads, range capabil- ity, and horizontal landing of a lifting reentry vehicle (as compared with the high deceleration loads and SAS stability augmentation system parachute landing of a capsule) are presented. The evo- United States Air Force lution of the hypersonic HL- 10 lifting body is reviewed USAF from the theoretical
Load more

Recommended publications
  • The New American Space Age: a Progress Report on Human Spaceflight the New American Space Age: a Progress Report on Human Spaceflight the International Space
    The New American Space Age: A PROGRESS REPORT ON HUMAN SpaCEFLIGHT The New American Space Age: A Progress Report on Human Spaceflight The International Space Station: the largest international scientific and engineering achievement in human history. The New American Space Age: A Progress Report on Human Spaceflight Lately, it seems the public cannot get enough of space! The recent hit movie “Gravity” not only won 7 Academy Awards – it was a runaway box office success, no doubt inspiring young future scientists, engineers and mathematicians just as “2001: A Space Odyssey” did more than 40 years ago. “Cosmos,” a PBS series on the origins of the universe from the 1980s, has been updated to include the latest discoveries – and funded by a major television network in primetime. And let’s not forget the terrific online videos of science experiments from former International Space Station Commander Chris Hadfield that were viewed by millions of people online. Clearly, the American public is eager to carry the torch of space exploration again. Thankfully, NASA and the space industry are building a host of new vehicles that will do just that. American industry is hard at work developing new commercial transportation services to suborbital altitudes and even low Earth orbit. NASA and the space industry are also building vehicles to take astronauts beyond low Earth orbit for the first time since the Apollo program. Meanwhile, in the U.S. National Lab on the space station, unprecedented research in zero-g is paving the way for Earth breakthroughs in genetics, gerontology, new vaccines and much more.
    [Show full text]
  • Facing the Heat Barrier: a History of Hypersonics First Thoughts of Hypersonic Propulsion
    Facing the Heat Barrier: A History of Hypersonics First Thoughts of Hypersonic Propulsion Republic’s Aerospaceplane concept showed extensive engine-airframe integration. (Republic Aviation) For takeoff, Lockheed expected to use Turbo-LACE. This was a LACE variant that sought again to reduce the inherently hydrogen-rich operation of the basic system. Rather than cool the air until it was liquid, Turbo-Lace chilled it deeply but allowed it to remain gaseous. Being very dense, it could pass through a turbocom- pressor and reach pressures in the hundreds of psi. This saved hydrogen because less was needed to accomplish this cooling. The Turbo-LACE engines were to operate at chamber pressures of 200 to 250 psi, well below the internal pressure of standard rockets but high enough to produce 300,000 pounds of thrust by using turbocom- pressed oxygen.67 Republic Aviation continued to emphasize the scramjet. A new configuration broke with the practice of mounting these engines within pods, as if they were turbojets. Instead, this design introduced the important topic of engine-airframe integration by setting forth a concept that amounted to a single enormous scramjet fitted with wings and a tail. A conical forward fuselage served as an inlet spike. The inlets themselves formed a ring encircling much of the vehicle. Fuel tankage filled most of its capacious internal volume. This design study took two views regarding the potential performance of its engines. One concept avoided the use of LACE or ACES, assuming again that this craft could scram all the way to orbit. Still, it needed engines for takeoff so turbo- ramjets were installed, with both Pratt & Whitney and General Electric providing Lockheed’s Aerospaceplane concept.
    [Show full text]
  • PRE-X EXPERIMENTAL RE-ENTRY LIFTING BODY: DESIGN of FLIGHT TEST EXPERIMENTS for CRITICAL AEROTHERMAL PHENOMENA Paolo Baiocco
    PRE-X EXPERIMENTAL RE-ENTRY LIFTING BODY: DESIGN OF FLIGHT TEST EXPERIMENTS FOR CRITICAL AEROTHERMAL PHENOMENA Paolo Baiocco * * CNES Direction des Lanceurs Rond Point de l’Espace – 91023 Evry Cedex, France Phone : +33 (0)1.60.87.72.14 Fax : +33 (0)1.60.87.72.66 E-mail : [email protected] ABSTRACT Atmospheric glided re-entry is one of the main key technologies for future space vehicle applications. In this frame Pre-X is the CNES proposal to perform in-flight experimentation mainly on reusable thermal protections, aero-thermo-dynamics and guidance to secure the second generation of re-entry X vehicles. This paper describes the system principles and main aerothermodynamic experiences currently foreseen on board the vehicle. A preliminary in-flight experimentation and measurement plan has been assessed defining the main objectives in terms of reusable Thermal Protection System (TPS) and Aero Thermo Dynamics (ATD) data on the most critical phenomena. This flight aims also to take the opportunity to fly some innovative measurements. A complete system loop has been performed including the operations, ground system assessment, and visibility analysis. The vehicle re-entry point is at 120 km and the mission objectives are fulfilled between Mach 25 and 5. Then the vehicle has to pass to subsonic speeds, the parachute opens and it is finally recovered in the sea. The VEGA and DNEPR launch vehicles are compatible of the Pre-X experimental vehicle. ACRONYMS ACS Attitude Control System AEDB Aero Dynamic Data Base AoA Angle of Attack ARD Atmospheric Re-entry Demonstrator ATD Aero Termo Dynamics ATDB Aero Termodynamic Data Base CDG Centre of Gravity CFA Continuum Flow Aerodynamics CFD Computational Fluid Dynamics CMC Ceramic Matrix Composite C/SiC Carbon / Silicon Carbide FCS Flight Control System FEI Flexible External Insulation GNC Guidance Navigation and Control LTT Laminar to Turbulent Transition LV Launch Vehicle RCS Reaction Control System SEL Electrical System Baiocco, P.
    [Show full text]
  • Lift and Drag Characteristics of the HL-10 Lifting Body During Subsonic
    NASA TECHNICAL NOTE NASA TN D-6263 - _-­ e,.i KIRTLAkD AFB,N.M, LIFT AND DRAG CHARACTERISTICS . OF THE HL-IO LIFTING BODY DURING SUBSONIC GLIDING FLIGHT b . .. by Jon S. Pyle h Flight Research Center Edwards, Cali$ 93523 NATIONAL AERONAUTICS AND SPACE ADMINISTRATION WASHINGTON, 0. C. MARCH 1971 TECH LIBRARY KAFB, NM I111111 11111 11111 11111 /Ill/lllll1111111111111 0333074 1. Report No. 2. Government Accession No. 3. Recipient's Catalog No. NASA TN D-6263 I 4. Title and Subtitle 5. Report Date LIFT AND DRAG CHARACTERISTICS OF THE HL-10 LIFTING BODY March 1973­ DURING SUBSONIC GLIDING FLIGHT 6. Performing Organization Code 7. Author(s) 8. Performing Organization Report No. Jon S. Pyle H-608 10. Work Unit No. 727-00-00-01-24 ?- 9. Performing Organization Name and Address NASA Flight Research Center 11. Contract or Grant No. P. 0. Box 273 Edwards, California 93523 d 13. Type of Report and Period Covered 112. Sponsoring Agency Name and Address Technical Note National Aeronautics and Space Administration 14. Sponsoring Agency Code Washington, D. C. 20546 15. Supplementary Notes 16. Abstract Subsonic lift and drag data obtained during the HL-10 lifting body glide flight program are presented for four configurations for angles of attack from 5" to 26" and Mach numbers from 0.35 to 0. 62. These flight data, where applicable, are compared with results from small-scale wind-tunnel tests of an HL-10 model, full-scale wind-tunnel results obtained with the flight vehicle, and flight results for the M2-F2 lifting body. The lift and drag characteristics obtained from the HL-10 flight results showed that a severe flow problem existed on the upper surface of the vehicle during the first flight test.
    [Show full text]
  • International Space Station Crew Return Vehicle: X-38
    Educational Product National Aeronautics and Educators Grades 5–8 Space Administration EB-1998-11-127-HQ Educational Brief International Space Station Crew Return Vehicle: X-38 The International Space Station (ISS) will provide the world with an orbiting laboratory that will have long-duration micro- gravity experimentation capability. The crew size for this facility will depend upon the crew return capability. The first crews will consist of three astronauts from Russia and the United States. The crew is limited to three because the Russian Soyuz vehicle that will remain docked to the ISS can only hold three people. It is imperative that the crew members be able to return to Earth if there is a medical emergency or if other complications arise. In development at this time is a Crew Return Vehicle that will be able to hold up to seven crew members. This will allow the full complement of seven astronauts to live and work onboard the ISS. The Crew Return Vehicle, or X-38, uses a lifting body concept originally developed by the U.S. Air Force in the mid-1960s. These wingless lifting bodies attain aerodynamic stability and lift from the shape of the aircraft. Lift results from more air pressure on the bottom of the body than on the top. Following the jettison of a deorbit engine, the X-38 will glide from orbit and use a steerable, parafoil parachute for its final descent to landing. The high speeds at which lifting body aircraft operate make it dangerous to land. The parafoil is used to slow the vehicle down and make it safer.
    [Show full text]
  • Airframe Integration Trade Studies for a Reusable Launch Vehicle
    Airframe Integration Trade Studies for a Reusable Launch Vehicle John T. Dorsey, Chauncey Wu, Kevin Rivers, Carl Martin, Russell Smith Thermal Structures Branch, NASA Langley Research Center, Hampton, VA 23681-0001 Abstract. Future launch vehicles must be lightweight, fully reusable and easily maintained if low-cost access to space is to be achieved. The goal of achieving an economically viable Single-Stage-to-Orbit (SSTO) Reusable Launch Vehicle (RLV) is not easily achieved and success will depend to a large extent on having an integrated and optimized total system. A series of trade studies were performed to meet three objectives. First, to provide structural weights and parametric weight equations as inputs to configuration-level trade studies. Second, to identify, assess and quantify major weight drivers for the RLV airframe. Third, using information on major weight drivers, and considering the RLV as an integrated thermal structure (composed of thrust structures, tanks, thermal protection system, insulation and control surfaces), identify and assess new and innovative approaches or concepts that have the potential for either reducing airframe weight, improving operability, and/or reducing cost. INTRODUCTION Future launch vehicles must be lightweight, fully reusable and easily maintained if low-cost access to space is to be achieved. The Reusable Launch Vehicle Program (RLV) is a joint venture between NASA and Lockheed-Martin to develop the enabling technologies for such a vehicle. The proposed Lockheed-Martin VentureStarª, shown in Figure 1, has a goal of reducing the cost of placing payloads into orbit by an order of magnitude (Cook, 1996). The Lockheed-Martin RLV configuration baseline is a lifting body with aerospike engines mounted aft.
    [Show full text]
  • Active Thermal Control System Radiators for the Dream Chaser Cargo System
    48th International Conference on Environmental Systems ICES-2018-121 8-12 July 2018, Albuquerque, New Mexico Active Thermal Control System Radiators for the Dream Chaser Cargo System Norman Hahn1 Paragon Space Development Corporation, Golden, Colorado 80401 Cheryl Perich2 Sierra Nevada Corporation, Louisville, Colorado, 80027 Sierra Nevada Corporation is under contract with NASA to resupply the International Space Station starting in 2020 using the Dream Chaser® spacecraft. One of the primary subsystems of this spacecraft is the Active Thermal Control System (ATCS), which maintains all spacecraft components and subsystems within their required temperature limits through heat collection, transportation and rejection processes. A primary means of heat rejection is radiation to space via the active thermal control radiators produced by Paragon Space Development Corporation. This paper provides an overview of the Dream Chaser ATCS and details the design of the radiators. The sizing of the radiator surface area and fluid flow paths will be discussed along with the challenges associated with integrating the radiator panels onto the Dream Chaser Cargo Module. Finally, the manufacturing processes required to produce the radiators will be examined. Nomenclature ATCS = Active Thermal Control System CM = Cargo Module CRS2 = Commercial Resupply Service 2 D = tube diameter FSW = Friction Stir Weld ISS = International Space Station L = tube length LHS = Left Hand Side = mass flow rate MMOD = Micrometeoroid and Orbital Debris NASA = National Aeronautics and Space Administration PGW = Propylene Glycol and Water SNC = Sierra Nevada Corporation µ = fluid viscosity ρ = fluid density I. Introduction IERRA Nevada Corporation’s (SNC) Dream Chaser Cargo System provides the National Aeronautics and Space S Administration (NASA) with the capability to safely and efficiently transport cargo to and from the International Space Station (ISS) under the Commercial Resupply Service 2 (CRS2) program.
    [Show full text]
  • Theotherguysnasa Needs a Space Taxi. the Likely Pick Is Spacex
    NASA needs a space taxi. The likely pick is SpaceX — but don’t count out this Colorado company. The Other Guys BY MICHAEL BEHAR STANDING BESIDE Dream Chaser, for our nation. It’s the opportunity to get the United States back into launching it’s hard to ignore its resemblance humans into space.” to the space shuttle. It’s smaller— Voss showed me around the bay where Sierra Nevada is constructing Dream only 30 feet long from nose to Chaser, a seven-passenger reusable space- tail—and the wings are upswept plane that, if it is selected by NASA, would be carried to space atop an Atlas V rocket. and canted. But in overall shape, After decoupling from its launch vehicle, Dream Chaser would ignite its engines the kinship is clear. Still, the com- to reach its final destination. It’s capable pany building this vehicle says of docking with the ISS, or performing a variety of multi-day missions in low Earth it is not trying to make Shuttle orbit, then returning home in a glide to a 2.0. “We’re not fixing all the shut- runway landing. While Dream Chaser is based on a long-established aerodynamic tle’s problems,” avows Jim Voss, concept called a lifting body, it incorporates the avuncular vice president of numerous innovations never before used Opposite: Vying for the job of frst commercial astronaut hauler, Dream Chaser got on a manned orbital vehicle, including put through its aerodynamic paces last year when its maker, Sierra Nevada, dangled Sierra Nevada Corporation’s Space hybrid-fueled engines and a carbon-fiber it from an Erickson Air-Crane helicopter over Jeferson County, Colorado.
    [Show full text]
  • Shape Design of Lifting Body Based on Genetic Algorithm
    I.J. Information Engineering and Electronic Business, 2010, 1, 37-43 Published Online November 2010 in MECS (http://www.mecs-press.org/) Shape Design of Lifting body Based on Genetic Algorithm Yongyuan Li, Yi Jiang Beijing Institute of Technology, Beijing, China Email: lyy6912 @yeah.net Chunping Huang R&D Centre, China Academy of Launch Vehicle Technology,Beijing , China Email: [email protected] Abstract—This paper briefly introduces the concept and history of lifting body, and puts forward a new method for the optimization of lifting body. This method has drawn lessons from the die line design of airplane is used to parametric numerical modeling for the lifting body, and extract the characterization of shape parameters as design variables, a combination of lifting body reentry vehicle aerodynamic conditions, aerodynamic heating, volumetric Rate and the stability of performance. Multi-objective hybrid genetic algorithm is adopted to complete the aerodynamic shape optimization and design of hypersonic lifting body vehicle when under more variable and constrained condition in order to obtain the Pareto optimal solution of Common Aero Vehicle shape. Index Terms—Lifting Body; Multi-objective Genetic Algorithm; Optimization Design I. INTRODUCTION In the early 1950s, the concept of lifting body reentry from suborbital or orbital space flight evolved at National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics (NACA) Ames Aeronautical Laboratory, Moffett Field, California, by two imaginative engineers, Allen and Alfred Eggers. The Fig.1 The space shuttle and X-38 of US initial work was accomplished in connection with the reentry survival of ballistic missile nose cones1. Mr. Allen found that by blunting the nose of a missile, the reentry energy would be more rapidly dissipated through the large shock wave while a sharp nosed missile would absorb more energy, in the form of heat, through skin friction.
    [Show full text]
  • Concepts of Operations for a Reusable Launch Vehicle
    Concepts of Operations for a Reusable Launch Vehicle MICHAEL A. RAMPINO, Major, USAF School of Advanced Airpower Studies THESIS PRESENTED TO THE FACULTY OF THE SCHOOL OF ADVANCED AIRPOWER STUDIES, MAXWELL AIR FORCE BASE, ALABAMA, FOR COMPLETION OF GRADUATION REQUIREMENTS, ACADEMIC YEAR 1995–96. Air University Press Maxwell Air Force Base, Alabama September 1997 Disclaimer Opinions, conclusions, and recommendations expressed or implied within are solely those of the author(s), and do not necessarily represent the views of Air University, the United States Air Force, the Department of Defense, or any other US government agency. Cleared for public release: Distribution unlimited. ii Contents Chapter Page DISCLAIMER . ii ABSTRACT . v ABOUT THE AUTHOR . vii ACKNOWLEDGMENTS . ix 1 INTRODUCTION . 1 2 RLV CONCEPTS AND ATTRIBUTES . 7 3 CONCEPTS OF OPERATIONS . 19 4 ANALYSIS . 29 5 CONCLUSIONS . 43 BIBLIOGRAPHY . 49 Illustrations Figure 1 Current RLV Concepts . 10 2 Cumulative 2,000-Pound Weapons Delivery within Three Days . 32 Table 1 Attributes of Proposed RLV Concepts and One Popular TAV Concept . 9 2 Summary of Attributes of a Notional RLV . 15 3 CONOPS A and B RLV Capabilities . 19 4 Cumulative 2,000-Pound Weapons Delivery within Three Days . 32 5 Summary of Analysis . 47 iii Abstract The United States is embarked on a journey toward maturity as a spacefaring nation. One key step along the way is development of a reusable launch vehicle (RLV). The most recent National Space Transportation Policy (August 1994) assigned improvement and evolution of current expendable launch vehicles to the Department of Defense while National Aeronautical Space Administration (NASA) is responsible for working with industry on demonstrating RLV technology.
    [Show full text]
  • Round Trip to Orbit: Human Spaceflight Alternatives
    Round Trip to Orbit: Human Spaceflight Alternatives August 1989 NTIS order #PB89-224661 Recommended Citation: U.S. Congress, Office of Technology Assessment, Round Trip to Orbit: Human Spaceflight Alternatives Special Report, OTA-ISC-419 (Washington, DC: U.S. Government Printing Office, August 1989). Library of Congress Catalog Card Number 89-600744 For sale by the Superintendent of Documents U.S. Government Printing Office, Washington, DC 20402-9325 (order form can be found in the back of this special report) Foreword In the 20 years since the first Apollo moon landing, the Nation has moved well beyond the Saturn 5 expendable launch vehicle that put men on the moon. First launched in 1981, the Space Shuttle, the world’s first partially reusable launch system, has made possible an array of space achievements, including the recovery and repair of ailing satellites, and shirtsleeve research in Spacelab. However, the tragic loss of the orbiter Challenger and its crew three and a half years ago reminded us that space travel also carries with it a high element of risk-both to spacecraft and to people. Continued human exploration and exploitation of space will depend on a fleet of versatile and reliable launch vehicles. As this special report points out, the United States can look forward to continued improvements in safety, reliability, and performance of the Shuttle system. Yet, early in the next century, the Nation will need a replacement for the Shuttle. To prepare for that eventuality, NASA and the Air Force have begun to explore the potential for advanced launch systems, such as the Advanced Manned Launch System and the National Aerospace Plane, which could revolutionize human access to space.
    [Show full text]
  • Abstract Keywords Abbreviations
    A review of design issues specific to hypersonic flight vehicles (30/03/2016) D. Sziroczak, PhD, Cranfield University H. Smith, Professor, Cranfield University Abstract This paper provides an overview of the current technical issues and challenges associated with the design of hypersonic vehicles. Two distinct classes of vehicles are reviewed; Hypersonic Transports and Space Launchers, their common features and differences are examined. After a brief historical overview, the paper takes a multi- disciplinary approach to these vehicles, discusses various design aspects, and technical challenges. Operational issues are explored, including mission profiles, current and predicted markets, in addition to environmental effects and human factors. Technological issues are also reviewed, focusing on the three major challenge areas associated with these vehicles: aerothermodynamics, propulsion, and structures. In addition, matters of reliability and maintainability are also presented. The paper also reviews the certification and flight testing of these vehicles from a global perspective. Finally the current stakeholders in the field of hypersonic flight are presented, summarizing the active programs and promising concepts. Keywords Hypersonic Transport, Space Launcher, Design review Abbreviations AETB: Alumina Enhanced Thermal Barrier AFRSI: Advanced Flexible Reusable Surface Insulation AOA: Angle of Attack CFD: Computational Fluid Dynamics CG: Centre of Gravity EASA: European Aviation Safety Agency EMU: Extravehicular Mobility Unit ESA:
    [Show full text]