The design of the next generation of space access vehicles has led to a unique flight test that blends the space and flight research worlds. The new space vehicle designs, such as the X-33 vehicle and Reusable Launch Vehicle (RLV), are powered by linear aerospike rocket engines. Many questions remain regarding aerospike engine performance and efficiency in flight. To provide some of these data before flying on the X-33 vehicle and the RLV, a spacecraft rocket engine has been flight-tested atop the NASA SR-71 aircraft as the Linear Aerospike SR-71 Experiment (LASRE). A 20 percent-scale, semispan model of the X-33 vehicle, the aerospike engine, and all the required fuel and oxidizer tanks and propellant feed systems have been mounted atop the SR-71 airplane for this experiment. A major technical objective of the LASRE flight test is to obtain installed-engine performance flight data for comparison to wind-tunnel results and for the development of computational fluid dynamics-based design methodologies. An extensive design and development phase of the experiment hardware has been completed, including approximately 40 ground tests. Five flights of the LASRE and firing the rocket engine using inert liquid nitrogen and helium in place of liquid oxygen and hydrogen have been successfully completed.


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    Flight Testing the Linear Aerospike SR-71 Experiment (LASRE)

    Stephen Corda / Bradford A Neal / Timothy R Moes et al. | NTRS | 1998




    Evaluation of the Linear Aerospike SR-71 Experiment (LASRE) Oxygen Sensor

    Ennix, Kimberly A. / Corpening, Griffin P. / Jarvis, Michele et al. | NTRS | 1999


    Linear Aerospike SR-71 Experiment (LASRE): Aerospace Propulsion Hazard Mitigation Systems

    Mizukami, Masashi / Corpening, Griffin P. / Ray, Ronald J. et al. | NTRS | 1998