An account is given of the flight testing development phase of the Space Shuttle Orbiter. Because of its low lift-to-drag ratio, the Orbiter must make its 280-kt landing approach in the lower atmosphere with a steep descent angle of 19 deg, pulling up at 1800 feet altitude to a 1-1.5 deg descent angle, and finally gliding to a landing at 195 kt. The Orbiter has almost neutral aerodynamic static stability in pitch and yaw, requiring the use of electronic stabilization to augment the vehicle's natural stability. Attention is given to the flight test program, which comprised the first four flights of the Space Shuttle, and which substantially relied on preflight analysis to establish confidence in Shuttle flight performance. Also discussed are the solar radiation absorption and aerodynamic heating characteristics
Flight testing of the Space Shuttle
CIDA ; 6 , 6, 19
1981-01-01
Miscellaneous
No indication
English
Space shuttle orbital flight testing
NTRS | 1979
|Space Shuttle orbital flight testing
NTRS | 1979
|Aerodynamic Flight Testing of the Space Shuttle Orbiter
SAE Technical Papers | 1985
|Aerodynamic flight testing of the Space Shuttle Orbiter
NTRS | 1985
|Space Shuttle flight operations.
NTRS | 1973
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