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Wind-tunnel development of an sr-71 aerospike rocket flight test configuration
| Content Provider | NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS) |
|---|---|
| Author | Conners, Timothy H. Shirakata, Norm Cobleigh, Brent R. Moes, Timothy R. Smith, Stephen C. |
| Copyright Year | 1996 |
| Description | A flight experiment has been proposed to investigate the performance of an aerospike rocket motor installed in a lifting body configuration. An SR-71 airplane would be used to carry the aerospike configuration to the desired flight test conditions. Wind-tunnel tests were completed on a 4-percent scale SR-71 airplane with the aerospike pod mounted in various locations on the upper fuselage. Testing was accomplished using sting and blade mounts from Mach 0.6 to Mach 3.2. Initial test objectives included assessing transonic drag and supersonic lateral-directional stability and control. During these tests, flight simulations were run with wind-tunnel data to assess the acceptability of the configurations. Early testing demonstrated that the initial configuration with the aerospike pod near the SR-71 center of gravity was unsuitable because of large nosedown pitching moments at transonic speeds. The excessive trim drag resulting from accommodating this pitching moment far exceeded the excess thrust capability of the airplane. Wind-tunnel testing continued in an attempt to find a configuration suitable for flight test. Multiple configurations were tested. Results indicate that an aft-mounted model configuration possessed acceptable performance, stability, and control characteristics. |
| File Size | 4123864 |
| Page Count | 32 |
| File Format | |
| Alternate Webpage(s) | http://archive.org/details/NASA_NTRS_Archive_19960038443 |
| Archival Resource Key | ark:/13960/t6450mg42 |
| Language | English |
| Publisher Date | 1996-06-01 |
| Access Restriction | Open |
| Subject Keyword | Aerodynamics Flight Tests Pitching Moments Subsonic Speed Wind Tunnels Lifting Bodies Sr-71 Aircraft Afterbodies Transonic Speed Lateral Stability Rocket Engines Mounting Pods External Stores Drag Center of Gravity Wind Tunnel Tests Fuselages Flight Simulation Rocket Flight Ntrs Nasa Technical Reports Server (ntrs) Nasa Technical Reports Server Aircraft Aerospace Engineering Aerospace Aeronautic Space Science |
| Content Type | Text |
| Resource Type | Technical Report |
