Evolution and Development of Hypersonic Configurations 1958-1990

Abstract

This report traces the activities of the Flight Dynamics Laboratory in hypersonic configuration research. Early efforts concentrated on simple configurations and progressed to more sophisticated lifting body point designs as analysis and design techniques became available. Several flight technology demonstration programs pioneered the exploitation of this new challenging flight regime and provided an extensive data base for the development of the Space Shuttle. Hypersonic air-breathing cruise vehicles are shown to be dominated by inlet and nozzles integration with the airframe. A list of lessons learned is compiled to provide a useful reference for the designer in the early formulation of configurations concepts.

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Document Details

Document Type
Technical Report
Publication Date
Sep 01, 1991
Accession Number
ADA242768

Entities

People

  • Alfred C. Draper
  • Thomas R. Sieron

Organizations

  • Wright Laboratory

Tags

Communities of Interest

  • Air Platforms
  • Space
  • Weapons Technologies

DTIC Thesaurus Topics

  • Aerodynamic Characteristics
  • Aerodynamic Configurations
  • Aerodynamic Heating
  • Aerospace Craft
  • Aerospaceplanes
  • Aircrafts
  • Airframes
  • Boundary Layer
  • Computational Fluid Dynamics
  • Databases
  • Fluid Dynamics
  • Heat Transfer
  • Lifting Bodies
  • Lifting Reentry Vehicles
  • Rocket Engines
  • Space Transportation
  • Spacecraft

Fields of Study

  • Physics

Readers

  • Aerodynamics.
  • Missile Defense Systems.
  • Systems Analysis and Design

Technology Areas

  • Hypersonics
  • Space
  • Space - Spacecraft Maneuvers