Analysis of flight profile and sonic boom population response of updated aerodynamic configuration for hypersonic passenger transport

Kurzfassung

The DLR concept SpaceLiner for a high-speed rocket-propelled launcher and point-to-point passenger transport system is currently undergoing its 8th design iteration. The primary change at this stage is a smaller wing with a higher angle of attack trim range capability to enable skip trajectories over large landmasses. These shall avoid sonic boom disturbances on the ground. In this study, selected SpaceLiner 8 and SpaceLiner 7 P2P trajectories are compared regarding flight profile, sonic boom and population response estimation. The SpaceLiner 8 demonstrates lower population disturbances as well as lower peak heat fluxes showing the promising current design