NASA MARSHALL SPACE FLIGHT CENTER SHALL UTILIZE THE CONTRACTORS POLYSONIC WIND TUNNEL (PSWT) TO SUPPORT THE…

Public award description

NASA MARSHALL SPACE FLIGHT CENTER SHALL UTILIZE THE CONTRACTORS POLYSONIC WIND TUNNEL (PSWT) TO SUPPORT THE ARES PROJECT. TO SUPPORT THE ASSESSMENT OF THE ARES DAC 2 1ST STAGE ELEMENT, THE DATA TO DEVELOP THE AERODYNAMIC DATABASE IS REQUIRED OVER THE DESCENT MACH RANGE. A WIND TUNNEL MODEL HAS BEEN BUILT TO TEST AT NASA MSFCS AERODYNAMIC RESEARCH FACILITY, FOR THE MACH RANGE 0.5 - 4.96. A LARGER FACILITY WITH A SIMILAR MACH RANGE CAPABILITY IS NEEDED TO TEST THE EXISTING MODEL AND THUS REDUCE OR ELIMINATE THE EFFECTS OF THE TUNNEL WALLS. THE PRIMARY MACH RANGE OF CONCERN IS BETWEEN 0.5 AND 1.46. THE PSWT COVERS THE MACH RANGE OF M = 0.45 TO 1.6 AND WILL THUS PROVIDE THE NEEDED DATA FOR THE REENTRY PHASE FOR ARES I 1ST STAGE FLIGHT AND ASSESS THE EFFECTS OF WALL INTERFERENCE. THE CONTRACTOR SHALL PROVIDE HARDWARE REQUIREMENTS FOR TESTING IN THE POLYSONIC WIND TUNNEL. THE CONTRACTOR SHALL PROVIDE THE WIND TUNNEL FACILITY AND PERSONNEL TO INSTALL THE MODEL HARDWARE AND PERFORM THE TEST MATRIX AND SHALL PROVIDE ALL DATA REDUCTION SET-UP, TRANSMITTALS, DATA FILES AND VERIFICATION. THE CONTRACTOR SHALL PERFORM CHECK-LOADINGS AND ANGLE-OF-ATTACK VERIFICATION, WIND OFF ZEROS, AND WEIGHT TARE PROCEDURES. BASED ON THE TEST MATRIX, THE CONTRACTOR SHALL PROVIDE FLOW ANGULARITY EVALUATIONS. THE CONTRACTOR SHALL PROVIDE PRELIMINARY TEST DATA TO MSFC ON-SITE ENGINEERS FOR REVIEW DURING THE TEST. FINAL DATA SHALL BE PROVIDED THREE (3) WEEKS AFTER COMPLETION OF THE TEST MATRIX TO MSFC. THE CONTRACTOR SHALL DISASSEMBLE THE MODEL, BOX, AND SHIP THE MODEL TO MSFC UPON COMPLETION OF THE TEST.