HYPERSONIC TEST VEHICLE RECOVERY SYSTEM

ABSTRACT:Systima Technologies, Inc. proposes the development of an unmanned hypersonic test vehicle recovery system that will greatly enhance the effectiveness of hypersonic flight testing.Systima plans to perform a comprehensive review of the various hypersonic vehicle test environments and recovery requirements in order to develop recommendations for suitable vehicle recovery technologies for the range of hypersonic mission scenarios and vehicle constraints.These recommendations shall be based upon recognition that each hypersonic test has a unique mission profile, necessitating multi-staged and/or adaptive recovery systems for performance over the range of flight regimes (from as high as Mach 10 through recovery).Consideration will be given to span of performance of the various approaches, scaling, staging and combination options, and systems constraints.Systima has already developed deceleration technologies suitable for hypersonic vehicle trajectory control as well as space-qualified parachute mortar systems used for reentry vehicle recovery, and its trade studies shall expand upon these capabilities to include additional energy-management approaches.Recommendations from the Phase I will be used to direct development of a prototype recovery system in the Phase II effort.BENEFIT:Systimas deceleration and recovery system will be a key asset in the development of future hypersonic vehicle technologies for future strategic US military and missile programs, facilitating accelerated development programs by enhancing post-test evaluations and allowing more rapid design evolution.Several government agencies including NASA, AFRL and DARPA are budgeting for continued studies in hypersonic systems, including scramjet powered vehicles and boost to glide technologies ($110M in 2014 between USAF and DARPA).Such ongoing programs include High Speed Strike Weapon (HSSW), the Armys Advanced Hypersonic Weapon (AHW), the Navys rail gun projectile research, and DARPAs Triple Target Terminator (T3).Other research programs that would benefit include the multi-agency HIFiRE program and access-to-space programs.