Theory of Tumbling Bodies Entering Planetary Atmospheres with Application to Probe Vehicles and the Australian Tektites

Abstract

The tumbling motion of aerodynamically stable bodies entering planetary atmospheres is analyzed considering that the tumbling, its arrest, and the subsequent oscillatory motion are governed by the equation for the fifth Painleve' transcendent. Results based on the asymptotic behavior of the transcendent are applied to study (1) the oscillatory behavior of planetary probe vehicles in relation to aerodynamic heating and loads and (2) the dynamic behavior of the Australian tektites on entering the Earth's atmosphere, under the hypothesis that their origin was the Moon.

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Document Details

Document Type
Technical Report
Publication Date
Jul 01, 1964
Accession Number
ADA395187

Entities

People

  • Murray Tobak
  • Victor L. Peterson

Organizations

  • National Aeronautics and Space Administration

Tags

Communities of Interest

  • Air Platforms
  • Weapons Technologies

DTIC Thesaurus Topics

  • Aerodynamic Forces
  • Aerodynamic Heating
  • Angular Momentum
  • Atmospheric Density
  • Bessel Functions
  • Bodies
  • Center Of Gravity
  • Differential Equations
  • Dynamic Pressure
  • Equations
  • Flight Paths
  • Moment Of Inertia
  • Momentum
  • Physical Properties
  • Planetary Atmospheres
  • Surface Tension
  • Trajectories

Readers

  • Atmospheric Science / Meteorology, specifically Wind Wave Turbulence.
  • Linear Algebra
  • Space Exploration and Orbital Mechanics.