Flow computations for the Space Shuttle in ascent mode using thin-layer Navier-Stokes equations

The application of CFD techniques to the Space Shuttle ascent environment was aggressively undertaken in the wake of the Challenger accident in order to secure a major new source of aerodynamic information for both the nominal and mission-abort conditions, using Cray 2 and Cray YMP supercomputers. Due to the integrated vehicle's complexity, the 'chimera' composite grid approach, in which an overset body-conforming grid is used to represent each geometric component as well as special flow regions, was employed for the discretization process. Calculation results exhibit general agreement in both flow structure and surface pressure with the available wind tunnel and flight-test results.