THE ARES I PROJECT IS PREPARING AN AERODYNAMIC DATABASE THAT CHARACTERIZES THE 1ST STAGE ELEMENT OF THE VEH…

Public award description

THE ARES I PROJECT IS PREPARING AN AERODYNAMIC DATABASE THAT CHARACTERIZES THE 1ST STAGE ELEMENT OF THE VEHICLE DURING REENTRY WHERE AERODYNAMIC EFFECTS ARE IMPORTANT FOR PARACHUTE DEPLOYMENT AND A SUCCESSFUL RECOVERY. THIS SPEED REGIME BEGINS AT SEPARATION, WHICH IS APPROXIMATELY MACH 6, AND CONTINUES THROUGH SPLASHDOWN. THE AERODYNAMIC DATABASE WILL BE USED TO DETERMINE THE ARES I 1ST STAGE ELEMENT PERFORMANCE, STABILITY & CONTROL EFFECTIVENESS, AND STRUCTURAL STABILITY DURING REENTRY. AN ASSESSMENT OF THE DESIGN ANALYSIS CYCLE (DAC) 2 ARES CONFIGURATION IS TO BE MADE AT THE MID-CYCLE REVIEW IN SEPTEMBER 2007. TO SUPPORT THIS ASSESSMENT, THE AERODYNAMIC DATABASE MUST BE COMPLETED, REVIEWED AND DELIVERED BY AUGUST 2007. 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 MSFC 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.