The reusability of launch vehicles or booster stages is a wide field of interest in aerospace design. One conceptual idea to return a booster stage is the so-called “in-air capturing”, where the stage is captured by an aerial vehicle and towed back to a destination point. In this paper a controllable docking device that is supposed to perform the actual coupling of these vehicles is presented and tested for its basic functionality to displace a drogue vertically and laterally. The flight mechanical and aerodynamical principles involved in the design of the coupling device are discussed. The implementation of roll stabilization and results of first flight tests with a sub-scale coupling device and an unmanned towing aircraft are presented to analyze the concept and controllability of the device.
FIRST DEVELOPMENT STEPS OF AN ACTIVELY CONTROLLED DROGUE
01.06.2018
2245154 byte
Aufsatz (Konferenz)
Elektronische Ressource
Englisch
Design, test and evaluation of an actively stabilised drogue refuelling system
Online Contents | 2013
|Design, Test and Evaluation of an Actively Stabilized Drogue Refueling System
British Library Conference Proceedings | 2011
|NTIS | 1974
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