CONFIGURATION DEVELOPMENT FOR A HYDROCARBON FUELED HYPERSONIC CRUISE VEHICLE

NASA and the Boeing Company have conducted a number of studies to evaluate hypersonic vehicle concepts for a number of missions. Past studies focused on hydrogen fueled vehicles whose mission reqirements could be satisfied by lifting bodies. Recent studies involving hydrocarbon fueled vehicles have required significant changes in vehicle aerodynamic design to accommodate the higher planform loadings associated with conventional fuels. This paper discusses the configuration development and, in particular, the planform development for a hydrocarbon fueled, Mach 7, hypersonic technology demonstrator. This effort focused on modifying the configuration of an existing design to satisfy customer requirements and compensate for their impacts on the flight characteristics of the vehicle to maximize demonstration capability. Major adjustments involved changes in the internal arrangement to accommodate modular experiments and modifications to the outer moldline to provide adequate fuel and meet performance constraints.