MANEUVERING REENTRY VEHICLES

ADVANCED MANEUVERING REENTRY SYSTEMS REQUIRE INSTALLATION OF A LARGE PHASED ARRAY ANTENNA IN THE VEHICLE SHELL STRUCTURE. THE LARGE PHYSICAL SIZE OF THE REQUIRED CUTOUT COMBINED WITH THE SEVERE MANEUVERING AND NUCLEAR AIRBLAST LOADS PLACE SEVERE DEMANDS ON THE STRUCTURAL ATTACHMENT BETWEEN THE WINDOW AND VEHICLE. WEIGHT IS CRITICAL AND THE WINDOW ASSEMBLY MUST BE CAPABLE OF BEING REMOVED AND REINSTALLED. CONVENTIONAL METHODS OF STRUCTURAL ATTACHMENT OF COMPOSITE MATERIALS ARE REVIEWED AND FOUND WANTING. A NEW AND NOVEL METHOD IS PRESENTED AND A PROGRAM PROPOSED TO INVESTIGATE ITS FEASIBILITY. THE PROGRAM INCLUDES A LIMITED ANALYTICAL ASSESSMENT COMBINED WITH AN ITERATIVE TEST SERIES USING A STANDARD TENSILE TEST MACHINE, AND A SPECIAL JOINT TEST APPARATUS.