SHEFEX – The Vehicle and Sub-Systems for a Hypersonic Re-entry Flight Experiment

Kurzfassung

The purpose of the Sharp Edge Flight Experiment (SHEFEX) is to investigate the aerodynamic behaviour and thermal problems of an unconventional shape for re-entry vehicles, comprising multi-facetted surfaces with sharp edges. The main object of this experiment is the correlation of numerical analysis with real flight data in terms of the aerodynamic effects and structural concept for the thermal protection system (TPS). The Mobile Rocket Base of the German Aerospace Center (DLR) is responsible for the test flight of SHEFEX on a two stage unguided solid propellant sounding rocket which is required to provide a velocity of the order of Mach 7 for more than 30 seconds during atmospheric re-entry. This paper discusses the problems associated with the mission requirements and the solutions developed for the vehicle and sub-systems.