An aircraft configuration is described which yields efficient flight at both subsonic and hypersonic speeds and which permits the wings to be protected from the hostile heat environment of orbital reentry. The essential feature is a variable dihedral wing which may be folded out during flight to adjust the aircraft's flight characteristic as the speed decreases. During hypersonic flight the wings are folded upright against the fuselage, while for the lowest speed operation the wings are fully extended in a horizontal manner. Intermediate positions of extension are used for intermediate speed ranges.
Variable Dihedral Shuttle Orbiter
1975
10 pages
Report
No indication
English
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