DEVELOPMENT OF A SENSOR PACKAGE FOR HYPERVELOCITY SPACE VEHICLE INTERACTIONS AND SIGNATURES

AN OPERATIONAL HYPERSONIC VEHICLE WILL BE ABLE TO TRAVEL OVER THE ENTIRE RANGE OF ALTITUDES FROM THE SURFACE OF THE EARTH TO LOW EARTH ORBIT. IT WILL BE ESSENTIAL FOR THE VEHICLE SECURITY THAT IT REMAIN IN CONTACT WITH THE COMMAND CENTERS AND BE ABLE TO OBSERVE ITS NEAR FIELD ENVIRONMENT THROUGHOUT ITS FLIGHT CORRIDOR. PHYSICAL SCIENCES INC. (PSI) PROPOSES TO DEVELOP A DESIGN FOR A SENSOR PACKAGE WHICH WILL PROBE THE INTERACTIONS OF THE HYPERSONIC AIRCRAFT AND ITS EFFLUENTS WITH THE RESIDUAL ATMOSPHERE. IT WILL BE ESSENTIAL THAT THE VEHICLE BE ABLE TO SENSOR BOTH THE REMOTE ENVIRONMENT (AND NOT BE "BLINDED" BY NEAR FIELD EMISSIONS) AND THAT IT BE ABLE TO UNDERTAKE TWO-WAY COMMUNICATIONS WITH THE GROUND CONTROLLERS AT ALL TIMES. A VARIETY OF PROCESSES WILL BE OCCURRING SURROUNDING THE AIRCRAFT ABOVE 100 KM IN ALTITUDE. THE INTERACTION DENSITIES WILL BE PREDICTED BASED ON A TRANSITIONAL FLOWFIELD MODEL. THESE DENSITIES WILL THAN BE USED TO QUANTITATIVELY PREDICT THE PROPAGATION FREQUENCIES THROUGH THE PLASMA SHEATH AND THE GAS PHASE AND SURFACE COLLISIONALLY EXCITED EMISSIONS OVER THE HIGH ALTITUDE PORTION OF THE AIRCRAFT FLIGHT PATH AND AS A FUNCTION OF VEHICLE ACTIVITY. A UNIQUE PACKAGE OF SENSORS CAPABLE OF MONITORING THESE INTERACTIONS/SIGNATURES WILL BE DESIGNED. A TEST PLAN WILL BE DEVELOPED FOR THE PACKAGE WHICH WOULD BE ASSEMBLED DURING PHASE I OF THIS PROGRAM.