Numerical Simulations of High‐Altitude Aerothermodynamics of a Promising Spacecraft Model

The paper describes a numerical study of aerodynamic characteristics of a re‐entry vehicle in the range of altitudes from 120 to 60 km. The computations are performed by the DSMC method with the use of the SMILE software system and by the local bridging method with the use of the RuSat software system. Some computations are performed in an axisymmetric formulation, which makes it possible to estimate the real gas effects (nonequilibrium of internal energy, dissociation of the gas, etc.) on the efficiency of control surfaces. A comparison of results obtained by the local bridging method and the DSMC method allow estimation of the errors of aerodynamic characteristics obtained by the local bridging method.