Galileo probe forebody thermal protection - Benchmark heating environment calculations

Solutions are presented for the aerothermal heating environment for the forebody heatshield of candidate Galileo probe. Entry into both the nominal and cool-heavy model atmospheres were considered. Solutions were obtained for the candidate heavy probe with a weight of 310 kg and a lighter probe with a weight of 290 kg. In the flowfield analysis, a finite difference procedure was employed to obtain benchmark predictions of pressure, radiative and convective heating rates, and the steady-state wall blowing rates. Calculated heating rates for entry into the cool-heavy model atmosphere were about 60 percent higher than those predicted for the entry into the nominal atmosphere. The total mass lost for entry into the cool-heavy model atmosphere was about 146 kg and the mass lost for entry into the nominal model atmosphere was about 101 kg.