Orbiter Return to Flight Entry Aeroheating

• DOI: 10.2514/6.2006-2917
• Publication Date: 2012-12-19T18:50:40Z
• Authors: Charles Campbell; Brian Anderson; Gary Bourland; Stan Bouslog; Amy Cassady; Thomas Horvath; Scott Berry; Peter Gnoffo; William Wood; James Reuther; David Driver; Dennis Chao; Jay Hyatt; Don Picetti
• Keywords: Orbiter

The Columbia accident on February 1, 2003 began an unprecedented level of effort within the hypersonic aerothermodynamic community to support Space Shuttle Program. During approximately six month time frame primary Accident Investigation Board activity, many technical disciplines were involved in a concerted reconstruct last moments and her crew, understand critical events that led loss. Significant contributions CAIB activity made by community(REF CAIB) understanding re-entry environments propagation ascent foam induced wing leading edge damage subsequent breech spar Columbia, breakup vehicle. A core NASA aerothermodynamics team was investigation has been combined with United Alliance Boeing Orbiter engineering order position Program process perform in-flight Thermal Protection System assessments. This assessment is now part baselined plan for support, direct out-growth NASAs response. Multiple aeroheating tools are this process, which have developed during Return To Flight activity. In addition, because these overall also involves thermal stress analyses community, addition much broader mission team, integrated performing activities community. Several subsets communities described previous publications (CFD?, Cavity Heating? Any BLT? Grid Generation?). work will provide description utilized tile assessment, particular seek Individual be nominal heating environment characterization Orbiter, damage, effects due exposed substrates, application Computational Fluid Dynamics cavity heating, boundary layer transition prediction. paper meant view as one sequence papers development prediction capability efforts.