A ballistic investigation of the aerodynamic characteristics of a blunt vehicle at hypersonic speeds in carbon dioxide and airMissions to Mars require the successful development of aerobraking technology, and therefore a blunt cone representative of aerobrake shapes is investigated. Ballistic tests of the Pioneer Venus configuration are conducted in carbon dioxide and air at Mach numbers from 7 to 20 and Reynolds numbers from 0.1 x 10 exp 5 to 4 x 10 exp 6. Experimental results show that for defined conditions aerodynamic research can be conducted in air rather than carbon dioxide, providing savings in time and money. In addition, the results offer a prediction of flight aerodynamics during entry into the Martian atmosphere. Also discussed is a comparison of results from two data-reduction techniques showing that a five-degree-of-freedom routine employing weighted least-squares with differential corrections analyzes ballistic data more accurately.
Document ID
19920043151
Acquisition Source
Legacy CDMS
Document Type
Conference Paper
Authors
Packard, James D. (NASA Ames Research Center Moffett Field, CA, United States)
Griffith, Wayland C. (North Carolina State University Raleigh, United States)
Yates, Leslie A. (Eloret Institute Palo Alto, CA, United States)
Strawa, Anthony W. (NASA Ames Research Center Moffett Field, CA, United States)