The Balloon Launched Decelerator Test (BLDT) series conducted at White Sands Missile Range (WSMR) during July and August of 1972 flight qualified the NASA Viking '75 decelerator system at conditions bracketing those expected for Mars. This paper discusses the decelerator system design requiremnts, compares the test results with prior work, and discusses significant considerations leading to successful qualification in earth's atmosphere. The Viking decelerator system consists of a single-stage mortar-deployed 53-foot nominal diameter disk-gap-band parachute. Full-scale parachutes were deployed behind a full-scale simulated Viking vehicle at Mach numbers from 0.47 to 2.18 and dynamic pressures from 6.9 to 14.6 psf. Analyses show that the system is qualified with sufficient margin to perform successfully for the Viking mission.


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    Title :

    Qualification flight tests of the Viking decelerator system.


    Contributors:
    Moog, R. D. (author) / Bendura, R. J. (author) / Timmons, J. D. (author) / Lau, R. A. (author)

    Conference:

    Aerodynamic Deceleration Systems Conference ; 1973 ; Palm Springs, CA


    Publication date :

    1973-05-01


    Type of media :

    Conference paper


    Type of material :

    No indication


    Language :

    English


    Keywords :


    Qualification flight tests of the Viking decelerator system

    MOOG, R. / BENDURA, R. / TIMMONS, J. et al. | AIAA | 1973


    Qualification Flight Tests of the Viking Decelerator System

    R. D. MOOG / R. J. BENDURA / J. D. TlMMONS AND R. A. LAU | AIAA | 1974


    Development flight tests of the Viking decelerator system.

    Murrow, H. N. / Eckstrom, C. V. / Henke, D. W. | NTRS | 1973


    Development flight tests of the Viking decelerator system

    MURROW, H. / ECKSTROM, C. / HENKE, D. | AIAA | 1973


    Viking balloon launched decelerator tests

    Timmons, J. D. | NTRS | 1976