초록 ▼

An aerobraking orbital transfer vehicle (AOTV) (80) has aerobrake (82) with a blunted raked-off circular-cone configuration. The other components of the AOTV, including command/control module (95), fuel tanks (86, 88, 89 and 91), rocket engines (94) and afterbody (84), are positioned substantially a

An aerobraking orbital transfer vehicle (AOTV) (80) has aerobrake (82) with a blunted raked-off circular-cone configuration. The other components of the AOTV, including command/control module (95), fuel tanks (86, 88, 89 and 91), rocket engines (94) and afterbody (84), are positioned substantially along resultant force axis (104) of the AOTV (80). The axis (104) coincides with the resultant (sum of lift and drag) force vector. Afterbody (84) is mounted behind the aerobrake (82) with its length extending rearwardly from the aerobrake. The base flow clearance angle f80) is 25°, thus allowing the afterbody (84) to extend rearwardly from the aerobrake (82) to a much greater extent than possible with a raked-off elliptic-cone aerobraking shield configuration. Afterbody size limitation and other problems associated with the raked-off elliptic-cone aerobraking shield configuration are alleviated by the combination of the aerobrake shape and positioning of the fuel tanks (86, 88, 89 and 91), rocket engines (94) and afterbody (84).

대표청구항 ▼

An aerobraking orbital transfer vehicle, which comprises an aerobraking shield having a raked-off circular-cone configuration with a forwardly extending nose, an elliptically shaped base having a major diameter in a pitch direction and a minor diameter in a yaw direction, and a frustrum geometry whi

An aerobraking orbital transfer vehicle, which comprises an aerobraking shield having a raked-off circular-cone configuration with a forwardly extending nose, an elliptically shaped base having a major diameter in a pitch direction and a minor diameter in a yaw direction, and a frustrum geometry which, in combination with said major diameter of said elliptically shaped base in a pitch direction, provides a base flow clearance angle greater than the base flow turning angle of said shield to avoid reattachment of the air stream to the vehicle and resultant undesirable heat transfer from the air stream to the vehicle.