Investigation of sonic boom for the Space Shuttle: Low cross-range orbiter
It is desired that the Space Shuttle Orbiter be capable of landing at airports equipped to handle present-day jet transports. Since the majority of such airports are located near heavily populated areas, an investigation has been undertaken to determine whether or not the sonic boom generated during reentry of Space Shuttle Orbiters is potentially a serious problem. The investigation was concerned with the low cross-range orbiter and reentry concept proposed by Faget of the Manned Spacecraft Center (MSC). This report describes the approach used and presents the results obtained to date.
Related Space Shuttle Documents
A Compilation of Space Shuttle Sonic Boom Measurements
Sonic boom measurements have been obtained on 26 flights of the Space Shuttle system beginning with the launch of STS-1 on April 12, 1981, to the reentry-descent of STS-41 into EAFB on Oct. 10, 1990.
A high angle of attack inviscid shuttle orbiter computation
As a preliminary step toward predicting the leeside thermal environment for winged reentry vehicles at flight conditions, a computational solution for the flow about the Shuttle Orbiter at wind tunnel
A radiant heating test facility for space shuttle orbiter thermal protection system certification
A large scale radiant heating test facility was constructed so that thermal certification tests can be performed on the new generation of thermal protection systems developed for the space shuttle orb