Orbiter entry leeside heat-transfer data analysis

Heat-transfer data measured along the Space Shuttle Orbiter's leeward centerline and over the wing leeside surface during the STS-2 and STS-3 mission entries are presented. The flight data are compared with available wind-tunnel results. Flight heating levels are, in general, lower than those which are inferred from the wind-tunnel results. This result is apparently due to the flight leeside flowfield remaining laminar over a larger Reynolds number range than that of corresponding ground test results. The flight/wind-tunnel data comparisons confirm the adequacy of, and conservatism embodied in, the direct application of wind-tunnel data at flight conditions for the design of Orbiter leeside thermal protection.