Measurement of Aerodynamic Characteristics of Re-entry Configurations in Free Flight at Hypersonic and Near-orbital Speeds

Résumé du livre

The measurement of aerodynamic characteristics of re-entry body configurations in re-entry flight at very high speeds has required extensions of techniques developed earlier for aircraft and low-speed missiles. This analysis presents the extensions made possible by the recent theoretical studies of re-entry mechanics and dynamics and their application to flight measurements. Emphasis is placed on the reduction of flight oscillation data to obtain static pitching moment and damping data. Highly nonlinear characteristics are assumed. Through application of the procedure to two cases (flight data and a digital-computer solution), the reduction technique is shown to be adequate for re-entry configurations trimmed about zero angleof attack. (Author).