No abstract

No abstract

No abstract

No abstract

The paper focuses on the experiments performed in the European high-enthalpy facilities during the manned space flight hypersonic ground testing technology programme. Emphasis is placed on simple configuration testing enabling validation of the physical modelling within non-equilibrium Navier-Stokes codes. The highenthalpy facilities used are the ONERA hot-shot F4 and the DLR Stalker tube HEG. The simple configurations are the nozzle, the Electre blunt cone, the hyperboloid flare, and the 70 • blunt cone. In addition to these axisymmetric configurations, the Halis/Orbiter configuration was extensively tested and numerically computed to validate the ground-to-flight extrapolation methodology. Real-gas effects on aerodynamic forces and in particular on pitching moment for the Halis have been reproduced in the F4 and compared with flight. The paper concludes with a series of recommendations for additional improvements in nozzle calibrations using nonintrusive methods, and for an increased use of computational fluid dynamics for the design of experiments, the definition of the test environment, the interpretation of the results and for extrapolation to flight.