Development of a shuttle plume radiation heating indicator

The primary objectives were to develop a Base Heating Indicator Code and a new plume radiation code for the Space Shuttle. Additional work included: revision of the Space Shuttle plume radiation environment for changes in configuration and correction of errors, evaluation of radiation measurements to establish a plume radiation model for the SRB High Performance Motor (HPM) plume, radiation predictions for preliminary designs, and participation in hydrogen disposal analysis and testing for the VAFB Shuttle launch site. The two most significant accomplishments were the development of the Base Heating Indicator Code and the Shuttle Engine Plume Radiation (SEPRAD) Code. The major efforts in revising the current Shuttle plume radiation environment were for the Orbiter base heat shield and the ET components in the Orbiter-ET interface region. The work performed is summarized in the technical discussion section with references to the documents containing detailed results. The technical discussion is followed by a summary of conclusions and recommendations for future work.