IMPROVED MANEUVERING REENTRY VEHICLE SIZING ANALYSIS

THE OVERALL OBJECTIVE OF THE EFFORTS IN PHASE I AND II IS TO DETERMINE THE EFFECTS OF INITIAL NOSE RADIUS, FOREBODY ANGLE, NOSE TIP MATERIALS, WEATHERING EROSION, AND MISSION TRAJECTORY ON THE DEVELOPING NOSE SHAPE AND REQUIRED OVERHANG FOR MEMBERS OF A GENERIC CLASS OF MANEUVERING AND/OR HOME SEEKING REENTRY VEHICLES. ONE FEATURE OF MEMBERS OF THIS CLASS IS THAT THEIR INITIAL NOSE RADIUS IS RELATIVELY SMALLER THAN THAT OF VEHICLES WHICH HAVE BEEN CONSIDERED IN THE PAST AND, HENCE, THERE IS EXPECTED TO BE GREATER RECESSION. A COMPUTER CODE SHAPE, WHICH WAS DEVELOPED A FEW YEARS AGO BY AVCO SYSTEMS TEXTRON IN CONJUNCTION WITH OUTSIDE CONSULTANTS ONE OF WHOM IS THE PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR FOR THIS PROPOSAL, WILL BE ADAPTED FOR USE IN COMPUTING THESE EFFECTS.