Test Plan for the Technology Maturation of Supersonic Inflatable Aerodynamic Decelerators
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Author(s)
Kelly, Jenny R.
Cruz, Juan R.
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Abstract
Supersonic inflatable aerodynamic decelerators (IADs) are drag devices intended to be
deployed at high Mach numbers. In the application considered here they assist in the descent
and landing of spacecraft on Mars. Although promising, present IAD technology is not yet
sufficiently mature for use in the near future. This paper describes a technology maturation
plan for tension cone IADs using subscale test articles to reduce development costs. As
envisioned, the proposed test plan includes three phases: wind tunnel tests (subsonic),
unpowered high-altitude flight tests (transonic), and powered high-altitude tests
(supersonic). This test plan is based on a building block approach in which successful
completion of each phase adds to the understanding of the behavior of IADs and reduces the
risk of the subsequent, more expensive phases. By properly scaling the IADs, test articles of
the same size and nearly the same construction can be used for all three phases. The final
phase is a dynamically scaled flight test with IAD deployment at the same Mach number as
the full-scale vehicle on Mars. Two full-scale example cases are presented: one for a
single-stage system (15 m dia. IAD to subsonic retropropulsion), and another for a two-stage
system (10.5 m dia. IAD to subsonic parachute). Using scale factors of 0.333 and 0.476 yield
subscale test IADs of 5 m dia. The dynamically scaled powered flight test starts at Mach 4
and an altitude of 33.5 km. Existing balloons and rocket motors are shown to be adequate to
meet the required test conditions.
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Date
2009-05
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