This report describes the results of a study conducted to develop crew escape system concepts for hypervelocity vehicles capable of transatmospheric missions. These escape system concepts were required to provide survivable escape and recovery throughout all phases of flight, including launch, upper atmospheric hypervelocity flight, orbit, reentry and terminal approach. The effort was divided into three tasks. In task I, 16 different concepts were studied to evaluate the feasibility of their meeting all the crew escape and protection requirements. The study vehicles included a horizontally launched vehicle with dual place cockpit and a vertically-launched vehicle with a single place cockpit. Only 3 of 16 concepts were determined to be viable options. A preliminary evaluation reduced the possible escape system candidates to two; an encapsulated seat with thermal protection and an escape capsule with thermal protection. In task II, various advanced technologies were investigated for possible application to the HVT crew escape concepts design development. These technologies included aerodynamics, thermal protection, propulsion, structures, materials, flight controls, sensors, crew station design, and life support. The results from this technology evaluation were used to refine the subsystem designs during task III, so that the design requirements were satisfied with minimum penalties to the vehicles. Trade studies were then conducted to select the best escape system concepts. These showed that the encapsulated seats were overall superior to the pod capsules for both study vehicles. (sdw)
Hypervelocity Technology Escape System Concepts. Volume 1. Development and Evaluation
1988
283 pages
Report
No indication
English
Space Safety , Escape capsules , Escape systems , Hypersonic vehicles , Life support systems , Aerodynamics , Cockpits , Crews , Detectors , Encapsulation , Flight , Flight control systems , Heat , Horizontal orientation , Hypersonic velocity , Launching , Penalties , Protection , Requirements , Seats , Stations , Survivability , Test and evaluation , Trade off analysis , Upper atmosphere , Vehicles
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