Facing the Heat Barrier - NASA's History Office

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Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Heppenheimer, T. A., 1947- Facing the heat barrier : a history of hypersonics / T.A. Heppenheimer. p. cm.—NASA History Series (NASA SP-2007-4232) Includes bibliographical references. 1. Aerodynamics, Hypersonic--Research--United States--History--20th century. 2. Research aircraft--United States--History--20th century. I. Title. III. NASA SP-2007-4232. TL571.5.H47 2006 629.132’3060973--dc22 2006030654
Table of Contents Acknowledgements ...............................................vii Introduction .................................................... ix Abbreviations and Acronyms . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . xv Chapter 1: First Steps in Hypersonic Research . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 German Work with High-Speed Flows ...............................2 Eugen Sänger . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8 NACA-Langley and John Becker . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12 Chapter 2: Nose Cones and Re-entry . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23 The Move Toward Missiles .......................................23 Approaching the Nose Cone ......................................29 Ablation .....................................................36 Flight Test ...................................................42 Chapter 3: The X-15 .............................................55 Origins of the X-15 ............................................56 The Air Force and High-Speed Flight ...............................61 X-15: The Technology . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 70 X-15: Some Results ............................................80 Chapter 4: First Thoughts of Hypersonic Propulsion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 91 Ramjets As Military Engines. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 91 Origins of the Scramjet .........................................98 Combined-Cycle Propulsion Systems ..............................107 Aerospaceplane ...............................................112 Chapter 5: Widening Prospects for Re-entry ...........................133 Winged Spacecraft and Dyna-Soar ................................133 The Technology of Dyna-Soar . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 143 Heat Shields for Mercury and Corona .............................151 Gemini and Apollo ............................................154 Chapter 6: Hypersonics and the Space Shuttle ..........................165 Preludes: Asset and Lifting Bodies ................................165 Asset Flight Tests .............................................167 Reusable Surface Insulation .....................................174 Designing the Shuttle ..........................................178 The Loss of Columbia . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 191 Chapter 7: The Fading, the Comeback ...............................197 Scramjets Pass Their Peak .......................................199 Scramjets at NASA-Langley . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 202 The Advent of NASP ..........................................211 The Decline of NASP .........................................218
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Facing the Heat Barrier - NASA's History Office

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