Atmospheric reentry - Shock layer gas physics

The technology of atmospheric reentry was a consequence of the Cold War. Ballistic missiles and nuclear weapons were legacies of World War II left to both the Soviet Union and the United States. Both nations initiated massive research and development programs to further the military capability of those technologies. However before a missile delivered nuclear weapon could be practical there lacked an essential ingredient: an atmospheric reentry technology. In theory, the nation first developing a reentry technology had a decisive milit ...

Including:

• Atmospheric reentry - Introduction
• Atmospheric reentry - Terminology definitions and jargon
• Atmospheric reentry - Blunt body entry vehicles
• Atmospheric reentry - Entry vehicle shapes
• Atmospheric reentry - Shock layer gas physics
• Atmospheric reentry - Ablative heat shields
• Atmospheric reentry - Thermal soak heat shields
• Atmospheric reentry - Passively cooled heat shields
• Atmospheric reentry - Actively cooled heat shields
• Atmospheric reentry - Feathered reentry
• Atmospheric reentry - Entry vehicle design considerations
• Atmospheric reentry - History's most difficult atmospheric entry
• Atmospheric reentry - Notable atmospheric entry mishaps
• Atmospheric reentry - Uncontrolled reentry
• Atmospheric reentry - Reference books
• Atmospheric reentry - Commentary about the reference books

Read more here: » Atmospheric reentry: Encyclopedia - Atmospheric reentry

Over the decades since the 1950s, a rich technical jargon has grown around the engineering of vehicles designed to enter planetary atmospheres. Definition of the jargon is prerequisite to meaningful discussion about atmospheric reentry. Atmospheric entry is the transition from the vacuum of space to the atmosphere of any planet or other celestial body. The term is not used for landing on bodies which have no atmosphere such as the Moon. Atmospheric reentry refers to the return to an atmosphere previously left for ...

See also:

Atmospheric reentry, Atmospheric reentry - Introduction, Atmospheric reentry - Terminology, definitions and jargon, Atmospheric reentry - Blunt body entry vehicles, Atmospheric reentry - Entry vehicle shapes, Atmospheric reentry - Shock layer gas physics, Atmospheric reentry - Ablative heat shields, Atmospheric reentry - Thermal soak heat shields, Atmospheric reentry - Passively cooled heat shields, Atmospheric reentry - Actively cooled heat shields, Atmospheric reentry - Feathered reentry, Atmospheric reentry - Entry vehicle design considerations, Atmospheric reentry - History's most difficult atmospheric entry, Atmospheric reentry - Notable atmospheric entry mishaps, Atmospheric reentry - Uncontrolled reentry, Atmospheric reentry - Reference books, Atmospheric reentry - Commentary about the reference books

Read more here: » Atmospheric reentry: Encyclopedia II - Atmospheric reentry - Terminology, definitions and jargon

An approximate rule-of-thumb used by heat shield designers for estimating peak shock layer temperature is to assume the air temperature in kelvins to be equal to the entry speed in meters per second. For example, a spacecraft entering the atmosphere at 7.8 km/s would experience a peak shock layer temperature of 7800 K. This method of estimation is a mathematical accident and a consequence of peak heat flux ...

See also:

Atmospheric reentry, Atmospheric reentry - Introduction, Atmospheric reentry - Terminology definitions and jargon, Atmospheric reentry - Blunt body entry vehicles, Atmospheric reentry - Entry vehicle shapes, Atmospheric reentry - Shock layer gas physics, Atmospheric reentry - Ablative heat shields, Atmospheric reentry - Thermal soak heat shields, Atmospheric reentry - Passively cooled heat shields, Atmospheric reentry - Actively cooled heat shields, Atmospheric reentry - Feathered reentry, Atmospheric reentry - Entry vehicle design considerations, Atmospheric reentry - History's most difficult atmospheric entry, Atmospheric reentry - Notable atmospheric entry mishaps, Atmospheric reentry - Uncontrolled reentry, Atmospheric reentry - Reference books, Atmospheric reentry - Commentary about the reference books

Read more here: » Atmospheric reentry: Encyclopedia II - Atmospheric reentry - Shock layer gas physics

An approximate rule-of-thumb used by heat shield designers for estimating peak shock layer temperature is to assume the air temperature in kelvins to be equal to the entry speed in meters per second. For example, a spacecraft entering the atmosphere at 7.8 km/s would experience a peak shock layer temperature of 7800 K. This method of estimation is a mathematical accident and a consequence of peak heat flux f ...

See also:

Atmospheric reentry, Atmospheric reentry - Terminology definitions and jargon, Atmospheric reentry - Blunt body entry vehicles, Atmospheric reentry - Entry vehicle shapes, Atmospheric reentry - Sphere or spherical section, Atmospheric reentry - Sphere-cone, Atmospheric reentry - Biconic, Atmospheric reentry - Non-axisymmetric shapes, Atmospheric reentry - Shock layer gas physics, Atmospheric reentry - Perfect gas model, Atmospheric reentry - Real equilibrium gas model, Atmospheric reentry - Real non-equilibrium gas model, Atmospheric reentry - Frozen gas model, Atmospheric reentry - Thermal Protection Systems, Atmospheric reentry - Ablative, Atmospheric reentry - Thermal soak, Atmospheric reentry - Passively cooled, Atmospheric reentry - Actively cooled, Atmospheric reentry - Feathered reentry, Atmospheric reentry - Entry vehicle design considerations, Atmospheric reentry - History's most difficult atmospheric entry, Atmospheric reentry - Notable atmospheric entry mishaps, Atmospheric reentry - Uncontrolled reentry, Atmospheric reentry - Bibliography, Atmospheric reentry - Publications referenced in Atmospheric Reentry, Atmospheric reentry - Important text books relevant to atmospheric entry, Atmospheric reentry - Commentary about the text books

Read more here: » Atmospheric reentry: Encyclopedia II - Atmospheric reentry - Shock layer gas physics

An approximate rule-of-thumb used by heat shield designers for estimating peak shock layer temperature is to assume the air temperature in kelvins to be equal to the entry speed in meters per second. For example, a spacecraft entering the atmosphere at 7.8 km/s would experience a peak shock layer temperature of 7800 K. This method of estimation is a mathematical accident and a consequence of peak heat flux f ...

See also:

Atmospheric reentry, Atmospheric reentry - Terminology definitions and jargon, Atmospheric reentry - Blunt body entry vehicles, Atmospheric reentry - Entry vehicle shapes, Atmospheric reentry - Sphere or spherical section, Atmospheric reentry - Sphere-cone, Atmospheric reentry - Biconic, Atmospheric reentry - Non-axisymmetric shapes, Atmospheric reentry - Shock layer gas physics, Atmospheric reentry - Perfect gas model, Atmospheric reentry - Real equilibrium gas model, Atmospheric reentry - Real non-equilibrium gas model, Atmospheric reentry - Frozen gas model, Atmospheric reentry - Thermal Protection Systems, Atmospheric reentry - Ablative, Atmospheric reentry - Thermal soak, Atmospheric reentry - Passively cooled, Atmospheric reentry - Actively cooled, Atmospheric reentry - Feathered reentry, Atmospheric reentry - Entry vehicle design considerations, Atmospheric reentry - History's most difficult atmospheric entry, Atmospheric reentry - Notable atmospheric entry mishaps, Atmospheric reentry - Uncontrolled reentry, Atmospheric reentry - Reference books, Atmospheric reentry - Commentary about the reference books

Read more here: » Atmospheric reentry: Encyclopedia II - Atmospheric reentry - Shock layer gas physics

Over the decades since the 1950s, a rich technical jargon has grown around the engineering of vehicles designed to enter planetary atmospheres. Definition of the jargon is prerequisite to meaningful discussion about atmospheric reentry. Atmospheric entry is the transition from the vacuum of space to the atmosphere of any planet or other celestial body. The term is not used for landing on bodies which have no atmosphere such as the Moon. Atmospheric reentry refers to the return to an atmosphere previously left for ...

See also:

Atmospheric reentry, Atmospheric reentry - Terminology definitions and jargon, Atmospheric reentry - Blunt body entry vehicles, Atmospheric reentry - Entry vehicle shapes, Atmospheric reentry - Sphere or spherical section, Atmospheric reentry - Sphere-cone, Atmospheric reentry - Biconic, Atmospheric reentry - Non-axisymmetric shapes, Atmospheric reentry - Shock layer gas physics, Atmospheric reentry - Perfect gas model, Atmospheric reentry - Real equilibrium gas model, Atmospheric reentry - Real non-equilibrium gas model, Atmospheric reentry - Frozen gas model, Atmospheric reentry - Thermal Protection Systems, Atmospheric reentry - Ablative, Atmospheric reentry - Thermal soak, Atmospheric reentry - Passively cooled, Atmospheric reentry - Actively cooled, Atmospheric reentry - Feathered reentry, Atmospheric reentry - Entry vehicle design considerations, Atmospheric reentry - History's most difficult atmospheric entry, Atmospheric reentry - Notable atmospheric entry mishaps, Atmospheric reentry - Uncontrolled reentry, Atmospheric reentry - Reference books, Atmospheric reentry - Commentary about the reference books

Read more here: » Atmospheric reentry: Encyclopedia II - Atmospheric reentry - Terminology definitions and jargon

Over the decades since the 1950s, a rich technical jargon has grown around the engineering of vehicles designed to enter planetary atmospheres. Definition of the jargon is prerequisite to meaningful discussion about atmospheric reentry. Atmospheric entry is the transition from the vacuum of space to the atmosphere of any planet or other celestial body. The term is not used for landing on bodies which have no atmosphere such as the Moon. Atmospheric reentry refers to the return to an atmosphere previously left for ...

See also:

Atmospheric reentry, Atmospheric reentry - Introduction, Atmospheric reentry - Terminology definitions and jargon, Atmospheric reentry - Blunt body entry vehicles, Atmospheric reentry - Entry vehicle shapes, Atmospheric reentry - Shock layer gas physics, Atmospheric reentry - Ablative heat shields, Atmospheric reentry - Thermal soak heat shields, Atmospheric reentry - Passively cooled heat shields, Atmospheric reentry - Actively cooled heat shields, Atmospheric reentry - Feathered reentry, Atmospheric reentry - Entry vehicle design considerations, Atmospheric reentry - History's most difficult atmospheric entry, Atmospheric reentry - Notable atmospheric entry mishaps, Atmospheric reentry - Uncontrolled reentry, Atmospheric reentry - Reference books, Atmospheric reentry - Commentary about the reference books

Read more here: » Atmospheric reentry: Encyclopedia II - Atmospheric reentry - Terminology definitions and jargon

Over the decades since the 1950s, a rich technical jargon has grown around the engineering of vehicles designed to enter planetary atmospheres. Definition of the jargon is prerequisite to meaningful discussion about atmospheric reentry. Atmospheric entry is the transition from the vacuum of space to the atmosphere of any planet or other celestial body. The term is not used for landing on bodies which have no atmosphere such as the Moon. Atmospheric reentry refers to the return to an atmosphere previously left for ...

See also:

Atmospheric reentry, Atmospheric reentry - Terminology definitions and jargon, Atmospheric reentry - Blunt body entry vehicles, Atmospheric reentry - Entry vehicle shapes, Atmospheric reentry - Sphere or spherical section, Atmospheric reentry - Sphere-cone, Atmospheric reentry - Biconic, Atmospheric reentry - Non-axisymmetric shapes, Atmospheric reentry - Shock layer gas physics, Atmospheric reentry - Perfect gas model, Atmospheric reentry - Real equilibrium gas model, Atmospheric reentry - Real non-equilibrium gas model, Atmospheric reentry - Frozen gas model, Atmospheric reentry - Thermal Protection Systems, Atmospheric reentry - Ablative, Atmospheric reentry - Thermal soak, Atmospheric reentry - Passively cooled, Atmospheric reentry - Actively cooled, Atmospheric reentry - Feathered reentry, Atmospheric reentry - Entry vehicle design considerations, Atmospheric reentry - History's most difficult atmospheric entry, Atmospheric reentry - Notable atmospheric entry mishaps, Atmospheric reentry - Uncontrolled reentry, Atmospheric reentry - Bibliography, Atmospheric reentry - Publications referenced in Atmospheric Reentry, Atmospheric reentry - Important text books relevant to atmospheric entry, Atmospheric reentry - Commentary about the text books

Read more here: » Atmospheric reentry: Encyclopedia II - Atmospheric reentry - Terminology definitions and jargon

There are four critical parameters considered when designing a vehicle for atmospheric entry: Peak heat flux Heat load Peak deceleration Peak dynamic pressure Peak heat flux selects the TPS material. Heat load selects the thickness of the TPS material stack. Peak deceleration is of major importance for manned missions. The upper limit for manned return to Earth from Low Earth Orbit (LEO) or lunar return is 10 Gs. For martian atmospheric entry after long exposure to zero gravity, the upper limit is 4 Gs. Peak dynamic pressure can also influ ...

See also:

Atmospheric reentry, Atmospheric reentry - Terminology definitions and jargon, Atmospheric reentry - Blunt body entry vehicles, Atmospheric reentry - Entry vehicle shapes, Atmospheric reentry - Sphere or spherical section, Atmospheric reentry - Sphere-cone, Atmospheric reentry - Biconic, Atmospheric reentry - Non-axisymmetric shapes, Atmospheric reentry - Shock layer gas physics, Atmospheric reentry - Perfect gas model, Atmospheric reentry - Real equilibrium gas model, Atmospheric reentry - Real non-equilibrium gas model, Atmospheric reentry - Frozen gas model, Atmospheric reentry - Thermal Protection Systems, Atmospheric reentry - Ablative, Atmospheric reentry - Thermal soak, Atmospheric reentry - Passively cooled, Atmospheric reentry - Actively cooled, Atmospheric reentry - Feathered reentry, Atmospheric reentry - Entry vehicle design considerations, Atmospheric reentry - History's most difficult atmospheric entry, Atmospheric reentry - Notable atmospheric entry mishaps, Atmospheric reentry - Uncontrolled reentry, Atmospheric reentry - Reference books, Atmospheric reentry - Commentary about the reference books

Read more here: » Atmospheric reentry: Encyclopedia II - Atmospheric reentry - Entry vehicle design considerations

The highest speed controlled entry so far achieved was by the Galileo Probe. The Galileo Probe was a 45° sphere-cone that entered Jupiter's atmosphere at 47.4 km/s (atmosphere relative speed at 450 km above the 1 bar reference altitude). The peak deceleration experienced was 230 Gs. Peak stagnation point pressure before aeroshell jettison was 9 bars. The peak shock layer temperature was approximately 16000 K (the solar photosphere is merely 5800 K). Approximately 26% of the Galileo Probe's original entry mass of 338.93 kg was vaporized duri ...

See also:

Atmospheric reentry, Atmospheric reentry - Terminology definitions and jargon, Atmospheric reentry - Blunt body entry vehicles, Atmospheric reentry - Entry vehicle shapes, Atmospheric reentry - Sphere or spherical section, Atmospheric reentry - Sphere-cone, Atmospheric reentry - Biconic, Atmospheric reentry - Non-axisymmetric shapes, Atmospheric reentry - Shock layer gas physics, Atmospheric reentry - Perfect gas model, Atmospheric reentry - Real equilibrium gas model, Atmospheric reentry - Real non-equilibrium gas model, Atmospheric reentry - Frozen gas model, Atmospheric reentry - Thermal Protection Systems, Atmospheric reentry - Ablative, Atmospheric reentry - Thermal soak, Atmospheric reentry - Passively cooled, Atmospheric reentry - Actively cooled, Atmospheric reentry - Feathered reentry, Atmospheric reentry - Entry vehicle design considerations, Atmospheric reentry - History's most difficult atmospheric entry, Atmospheric reentry - Notable atmospheric entry mishaps, Atmospheric reentry - Uncontrolled reentry, Atmospheric reentry - Reference books, Atmospheric reentry - Commentary about the reference books

Read more here: » Atmospheric reentry: Encyclopedia II - Atmospheric reentry - History's most difficult atmospheric entry

Martin, John J., "Atmospheric Entry - An Introduction to Its Science and Engineering," Prentice-Hall, Old Tappan, NJ, (1966). Regan, Frank J., "Re-Entry Vehicle Dynamics," AIAA Education Series, American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics, Inc., New York, ISBN 0-915928-78-7, (1984). Regan, Frank J. and Anadakrishnan, Satya M., "Dynamics of Atmospheric Re-Entry," AIAA Education Series, American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics, Inc., New York, ISBN 1-56347-048-9, (1993). Etkin, Bernard, "Dynamics of Atmospheric Flight," John Wiley ...

See also:

Atmospheric reentry, Atmospheric reentry - Terminology definitions and jargon, Atmospheric reentry - Blunt body entry vehicles, Atmospheric reentry - Entry vehicle shapes, Atmospheric reentry - Sphere or spherical section, Atmospheric reentry - Sphere-cone, Atmospheric reentry - Biconic, Atmospheric reentry - Non-axisymmetric shapes, Atmospheric reentry - Shock layer gas physics, Atmospheric reentry - Perfect gas model, Atmospheric reentry - Real equilibrium gas model, Atmospheric reentry - Real non-equilibrium gas model, Atmospheric reentry - Frozen gas model, Atmospheric reentry - Thermal Protection Systems, Atmospheric reentry - Ablative, Atmospheric reentry - Thermal soak, Atmospheric reentry - Passively cooled, Atmospheric reentry - Actively cooled, Atmospheric reentry - Feathered reentry, Atmospheric reentry - Entry vehicle design considerations, Atmospheric reentry - History's most difficult atmospheric entry, Atmospheric reentry - Notable atmospheric entry mishaps, Atmospheric reentry - Uncontrolled reentry, Atmospheric reentry - Reference books, Atmospheric reentry - Commentary about the reference books

Read more here: » Atmospheric reentry: Encyclopedia II - Atmospheric reentry - Reference books

The highest speed controlled entry so far achieved was by the Galileo Probe. The Galileo Probe was a 45° sphere-cone that entered Jupiter's atmosphere at 47.4 km/s (atmosphere relative speed at 450 km above the 1 bar reference altitude). The peak deceleration experienced was 230 Gs. Peak stagnation point pressure before aeroshell jettison was 9 bars. The peak shock layer temperature was approximately 16000 K (the solar photosphere is merely 5800 K). Approximately 26% of the Galileo Probe's original entry mass of 338.93 kg was vaporized duri ...

See also:

Atmospheric reentry, Atmospheric reentry - Terminology definitions and jargon, Atmospheric reentry - Blunt body entry vehicles, Atmospheric reentry - Entry vehicle shapes, Atmospheric reentry - Sphere or spherical section, Atmospheric reentry - Sphere-cone, Atmospheric reentry - Biconic, Atmospheric reentry - Non-axisymmetric shapes, Atmospheric reentry - Shock layer gas physics, Atmospheric reentry - Perfect gas model, Atmospheric reentry - Real equilibrium gas model, Atmospheric reentry - Real non-equilibrium gas model, Atmospheric reentry - Frozen gas model, Atmospheric reentry - Thermal Protection Systems, Atmospheric reentry - Ablative, Atmospheric reentry - Thermal soak, Atmospheric reentry - Passively cooled, Atmospheric reentry - Actively cooled, Atmospheric reentry - Feathered reentry, Atmospheric reentry - Entry vehicle design considerations, Atmospheric reentry - History's most difficult atmospheric entry, Atmospheric reentry - Notable atmospheric entry mishaps, Atmospheric reentry - Uncontrolled reentry, Atmospheric reentry - Bibliography, Atmospheric reentry - Publications referenced in Atmospheric Reentry, Atmospheric reentry - Important text books relevant to atmospheric entry, Atmospheric reentry - Commentary about the text books

Read more here: » Atmospheric reentry: Encyclopedia II - Atmospheric reentry - History's most difficult atmospheric entry

In 2004, aircraft designer Burt Rutan demonstrated the feasibility of an alternative or complementary approach to atmospheric reentry with the suborbital SpaceShipOne. SpaceShipOne has what has been described as a pair of flipping wings; the spacecraft itself changes shape for reentry. This increases drag, as the craft is now less streamlined. This results in more atmospheric gas particles hitting the spacecraft at higher altitudes than otherwise. The aircraft thus slows down more in higher atmospheric layers (which is the very ...

See also:

Atmospheric reentry, Atmospheric reentry - Terminology definitions and jargon, Atmospheric reentry - Blunt body entry vehicles, Atmospheric reentry - Entry vehicle shapes, Atmospheric reentry - Sphere or spherical section, Atmospheric reentry - Sphere-cone, Atmospheric reentry - Biconic, Atmospheric reentry - Non-axisymmetric shapes, Atmospheric reentry - Shock layer gas physics, Atmospheric reentry - Perfect gas model, Atmospheric reentry - Real equilibrium gas model, Atmospheric reentry - Real non-equilibrium gas model, Atmospheric reentry - Frozen gas model, Atmospheric reentry - Thermal Protection Systems, Atmospheric reentry - Ablative, Atmospheric reentry - Thermal soak, Atmospheric reentry - Passively cooled, Atmospheric reentry - Actively cooled, Atmospheric reentry - Feathered reentry, Atmospheric reentry - Entry vehicle design considerations, Atmospheric reentry - History's most difficult atmospheric entry, Atmospheric reentry - Notable atmospheric entry mishaps, Atmospheric reentry - Uncontrolled reentry, Atmospheric reentry - Reference books, Atmospheric reentry - Commentary about the reference books

Read more here: » Atmospheric reentry: Encyclopedia II - Atmospheric reentry - Feathered reentry

Atmospheric reentry - Publications referenced in Atmospheric Reentry. ^ J. A. Fay and F. R. Riddell, "Theory of Stagnation Point Heat Transfer in Dissociated Air," Journal of the Aeronautical Sciences, Vol. 25, No. 2, page 73, February 1958. ^ H. Julian Allen and A. J. Eggers, Jr., "A Study of the Motion and Aerodynamic Heating of Ballistic Mis ...

See also:

Atmospheric reentry, Atmospheric reentry - Terminology definitions and jargon, Atmospheric reentry - Blunt body entry vehicles, Atmospheric reentry - Entry vehicle shapes, Atmospheric reentry - Sphere or spherical section, Atmospheric reentry - Sphere-cone, Atmospheric reentry - Biconic, Atmospheric reentry - Non-axisymmetric shapes, Atmospheric reentry - Shock layer gas physics, Atmospheric reentry - Perfect gas model, Atmospheric reentry - Real equilibrium gas model, Atmospheric reentry - Real non-equilibrium gas model, Atmospheric reentry - Frozen gas model, Atmospheric reentry - Thermal Protection Systems, Atmospheric reentry - Ablative, Atmospheric reentry - Thermal soak, Atmospheric reentry - Passively cooled, Atmospheric reentry - Actively cooled, Atmospheric reentry - Feathered reentry, Atmospheric reentry - Entry vehicle design considerations, Atmospheric reentry - History's most difficult atmospheric entry, Atmospheric reentry - Notable atmospheric entry mishaps, Atmospheric reentry - Uncontrolled reentry, Atmospheric reentry - Bibliography, Atmospheric reentry - Publications referenced in Atmospheric Reentry, Atmospheric reentry - Important text books relevant to atmospheric entry, Atmospheric reentry - Commentary about the text books

Read more here: » Atmospheric reentry: Encyclopedia II - Atmospheric reentry - Bibliography

There are four critical parameters considered when designing a vehicle for atmospheric entry: Peak heat flux Heat load Peak deceleration Peak dynamic pressure Peak heat flux selects the TPS material. Heat load selects the thickness of the TPS material stack. Peak deceleration is of major importance for manned missions. The upper limit for manned return to Earth from Low Earth Orbit (LEO) or lunar return is 10 Gs. For martian atmospheric entry after long exposure to zero gravity, the upper limit is 4 Gs. Peak dynamic pressure can also influ ...

See also:

Atmospheric reentry, Atmospheric reentry - Terminology definitions and jargon, Atmospheric reentry - Blunt body entry vehicles, Atmospheric reentry - Entry vehicle shapes, Atmospheric reentry - Sphere or spherical section, Atmospheric reentry - Sphere-cone, Atmospheric reentry - Biconic, Atmospheric reentry - Non-axisymmetric shapes, Atmospheric reentry - Shock layer gas physics, Atmospheric reentry - Perfect gas model, Atmospheric reentry - Real equilibrium gas model, Atmospheric reentry - Real non-equilibrium gas model, Atmospheric reentry - Frozen gas model, Atmospheric reentry - Thermal Protection Systems, Atmospheric reentry - Ablative, Atmospheric reentry - Thermal soak, Atmospheric reentry - Passively cooled, Atmospheric reentry - Actively cooled, Atmospheric reentry - Feathered reentry, Atmospheric reentry - Entry vehicle design considerations, Atmospheric reentry - History's most difficult atmospheric entry, Atmospheric reentry - Notable atmospheric entry mishaps, Atmospheric reentry - Uncontrolled reentry, Atmospheric reentry - Bibliography, Atmospheric reentry - Publications referenced in Atmospheric Reentry, Atmospheric reentry - Important text books relevant to atmospheric entry, Atmospheric reentry - Commentary about the text books

Read more here: » Atmospheric reentry: Encyclopedia II - Atmospheric reentry - Entry vehicle design considerations

In 2004, aircraft designer Burt Rutan demonstrated the feasibility of an alternative or complementary approach to atmospheric reentry with the suborbital SpaceShipOne. SpaceShipOne has what has been described as a pair of flipping wings; the spacecraft itself changes shape for reentry. This increases drag, as the craft is now less streamlined. This results in more atmospheric gas particles hitting the spacecraft at higher altitudes than otherwise. The aircraft thus slows down more in higher atmospheric layers (which is the very ...

See also:

Atmospheric reentry, Atmospheric reentry - Terminology definitions and jargon, Atmospheric reentry - Blunt body entry vehicles, Atmospheric reentry - Entry vehicle shapes, Atmospheric reentry - Sphere or spherical section, Atmospheric reentry - Sphere-cone, Atmospheric reentry - Biconic, Atmospheric reentry - Non-axisymmetric shapes, Atmospheric reentry - Shock layer gas physics, Atmospheric reentry - Perfect gas model, Atmospheric reentry - Real equilibrium gas model, Atmospheric reentry - Real non-equilibrium gas model, Atmospheric reentry - Frozen gas model, Atmospheric reentry - Thermal Protection Systems, Atmospheric reentry - Ablative, Atmospheric reentry - Thermal soak, Atmospheric reentry - Passively cooled, Atmospheric reentry - Actively cooled, Atmospheric reentry - Feathered reentry, Atmospheric reentry - Entry vehicle design considerations, Atmospheric reentry - History's most difficult atmospheric entry, Atmospheric reentry - Notable atmospheric entry mishaps, Atmospheric reentry - Uncontrolled reentry, Atmospheric reentry - Bibliography, Atmospheric reentry - Publications referenced in Atmospheric Reentry, Atmospheric reentry - Important text books relevant to atmospheric entry, Atmospheric reentry - Commentary about the text books

Read more here: » Atmospheric reentry: Encyclopedia II - Atmospheric reentry - Feathered reentry

There are several basic shapes used in designing entry vehicles: Atmospheric reentry - Sphere or spherical section. The simplist axisymmetric shape is the sphere or spherical section. This can either be a complete sphere or a spherical section forebody with a converging conical afterbody. The sphere or spherical section's aerodynamics are easy to model analytically using Newtonian impact theory. Likewise, the spherical section's heat flux can be accurately modelled with the Fay-Riddell equation. The static ...

See also:

Atmospheric reentry, Atmospheric reentry - Terminology definitions and jargon, Atmospheric reentry - Blunt body entry vehicles, Atmospheric reentry - Entry vehicle shapes, Atmospheric reentry - Sphere or spherical section, Atmospheric reentry - Sphere-cone, Atmospheric reentry - Biconic, Atmospheric reentry - Non-axisymmetric shapes, Atmospheric reentry - Shock layer gas physics, Atmospheric reentry - Perfect gas model, Atmospheric reentry - Real equilibrium gas model, Atmospheric reentry - Real non-equilibrium gas model, Atmospheric reentry - Frozen gas model, Atmospheric reentry - Thermal Protection Systems, Atmospheric reentry - Ablative, Atmospheric reentry - Thermal soak, Atmospheric reentry - Passively cooled, Atmospheric reentry - Actively cooled, Atmospheric reentry - Feathered reentry, Atmospheric reentry - Entry vehicle design considerations, Atmospheric reentry - History's most difficult atmospheric entry, Atmospheric reentry - Notable atmospheric entry mishaps, Atmospheric reentry - Uncontrolled reentry, Atmospheric reentry - Bibliography, Atmospheric reentry - Publications referenced in Atmospheric Reentry, Atmospheric reentry - Important text books relevant to atmospheric entry, Atmospheric reentry - Commentary about the text books

Read more here: » Atmospheric reentry: Encyclopedia II - Atmospheric reentry - Entry vehicle shapes

Atmospheric reentry - Ablative. The type of heat shield that best protects against high heat flux is the ablative heat shield. The ablative heat shield functions by lifting the hot shock layer gas away from the heat shield's outer wall (creating a cooler boundary layer) through blowing. The overall process of reducing the heat flux experienced by the heat shield's outer wall is called blockage. Ablation causes the TPS layer to char, melt, and sublimate through the process of pyrolysis. The ga ...

See also:

Atmospheric reentry, Atmospheric reentry - Terminology definitions and jargon, Atmospheric reentry - Blunt body entry vehicles, Atmospheric reentry - Entry vehicle shapes, Atmospheric reentry - Sphere or spherical section, Atmospheric reentry - Sphere-cone, Atmospheric reentry - Biconic, Atmospheric reentry - Non-axisymmetric shapes, Atmospheric reentry - Shock layer gas physics, Atmospheric reentry - Perfect gas model, Atmospheric reentry - Real equilibrium gas model, Atmospheric reentry - Real non-equilibrium gas model, Atmospheric reentry - Frozen gas model, Atmospheric reentry - Thermal Protection Systems, Atmospheric reentry - Ablative, Atmospheric reentry - Thermal soak, Atmospheric reentry - Passively cooled, Atmospheric reentry - Actively cooled, Atmospheric reentry - Feathered reentry, Atmospheric reentry - Entry vehicle design considerations, Atmospheric reentry - History's most difficult atmospheric entry, Atmospheric reentry - Notable atmospheric entry mishaps, Atmospheric reentry - Uncontrolled reentry, Atmospheric reentry - Bibliography, Atmospheric reentry - Publications referenced in Atmospheric Reentry, Atmospheric reentry - Important text books relevant to atmospheric entry, Atmospheric reentry - Commentary about the text books

Read more here: » Atmospheric reentry: Encyclopedia II - Atmospheric reentry - Thermal Protection Systems

These four shadowgraph images represent early re-entry vehicle concepts. A shadowgraph is a process that makes visible the disturbances that occur in a fluid flow at high velocity, in which light passing through a flowing fluid is refracted by the density gradients in the fluid resulting in bright and dark areas on a screen placed behind the fluid. H. Julian Allen and A. J. Eggers, Jr. of the National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics (NACA) made the counter-intuitive discovery in 1952 that a blunt shape (high drag) made the most eff ...

See also:

Atmospheric reentry, Atmospheric reentry - Terminology definitions and jargon, Atmospheric reentry - Blunt body entry vehicles, Atmospheric reentry - Entry vehicle shapes, Atmospheric reentry - Sphere or spherical section, Atmospheric reentry - Sphere-cone, Atmospheric reentry - Biconic, Atmospheric reentry - Non-axisymmetric shapes, Atmospheric reentry - Shock layer gas physics, Atmospheric reentry - Perfect gas model, Atmospheric reentry - Real equilibrium gas model, Atmospheric reentry - Real non-equilibrium gas model, Atmospheric reentry - Frozen gas model, Atmospheric reentry - Thermal Protection Systems, Atmospheric reentry - Ablative, Atmospheric reentry - Thermal soak, Atmospheric reentry - Passively cooled, Atmospheric reentry - Actively cooled, Atmospheric reentry - Feathered reentry, Atmospheric reentry - Entry vehicle design considerations, Atmospheric reentry - History's most difficult atmospheric entry, Atmospheric reentry - Notable atmospheric entry mishaps, Atmospheric reentry - Uncontrolled reentry, Atmospheric reentry - Bibliography, Atmospheric reentry - Publications referenced in Atmospheric Reentry, Atmospheric reentry - Important text books relevant to atmospheric entry, Atmospheric reentry - Commentary about the text books

Read more here: » Atmospheric reentry: Encyclopedia II - Atmospheric reentry - Blunt body entry vehicles

Various advanced reusable spacecraft and hypersonic aircraft designs have been proposed to employ heat shields made from temperature-resistant metal alloys that incorporated a refrigerant or cryogenic fuel circulating through them. Such a TPS concept was proposed for the X-30 National Aerospace Plane (NASP). The NASP was supposed to have been a scramjet powered hypersonic aircraft but failed in development. In the early 1960s various TPS systems were proposed to use water or other cooling liquid sprayed into the shock layer. Such concepts never got past the proposal phase s ...

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Atmospheric reentry, Atmospheric reentry - Introduction, Atmospheric reentry - Terminology definitions and jargon, Atmospheric reentry - Blunt body entry vehicles, Atmospheric reentry - Entry vehicle shapes, Atmospheric reentry - Shock layer gas physics, Atmospheric reentry - Ablative heat shields, Atmospheric reentry - Thermal soak heat shields, Atmospheric reentry - Passively cooled heat shields, Atmospheric reentry - Actively cooled heat shields, Atmospheric reentry - Feathered reentry, Atmospheric reentry - Entry vehicle design considerations, Atmospheric reentry - History's most difficult atmospheric entry, Atmospheric reentry - Notable atmospheric entry mishaps, Atmospheric reentry - Uncontrolled reentry, Atmospheric reentry - Reference books, Atmospheric reentry - Commentary about the reference books

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