Review of Orbiter Flight Boundary Layer Transition Data

In support of the Shuttle Return to Flight program, a tool was developed to predict when boundary layer transition would occur on the lower surface of the orbiter during reentry due to the presence of protuberances and cavities in the thermal protection system. This predictive tool was developed based on extensive wind tunnel tests conducted after the loss of the Space Shuttle Columbia. Recognizing that wind tunnels cannot simulate the exact conditions an orbiter encounters as it re-enters the atmosphere, a preliminary attempt was made to use the documented flight related damage and the orbiter transition times, as deduced from flight instrumentation, to calibrate the predictive tool. After flight STS-114, the Boundary Layer Transition Team decided that a more in-depth analysis of the historical flight data was needed to better determine the root causes of the occasional early transition times of some of the past shuttle flights. In this paper we discuss our methodology for the analysis, the various sources of shuttle damage information, the analysis of the flight thermocouple data, and how the results compare to the Boundary Layer Transition prediction tool designed for Return to Flight.

[1]  Lin C. Hartung,et al.  Computer graphic visualization of Orbiter lower surface boundary-layer transition , 1987 .

[2]  Graham V. Candler,et al.  Data-parallel lower-upper relaxation method for the navier-stokes equations , 1996 .

[3]  Scott A. Berry,et al.  Boundary Layer Transition Results From STS-114 , 2006 .

[4]  M. H. Harthun,et al.  Aerothermodynamic entry environment of the Space Shuttle Orbiter , 1982 .

[5]  M. J. Green,et al.  Supporting flight data analysis for Space Shuttle Orbiter Experiments at NASA Ames Research Center , 1983 .

[6]  Charles H. Campbell,et al.  Orbiter Return-To-Flight Entry Aeroheating , 2006 .

[7]  S. M. Derry,et al.  Review of boundary layer transition flight data on the Space Shuttle Orbiter , 1991 .

[8]  Francis A. Greene,et al.  Development of a Boundary Layer Property Interpolation Tool in Support of Orbiter Return To Flight , 2006 .

[9]  B. A. Miller,et al.  Orbiter windward surface entry Heating: Post-orbital flight test program update , 1983 .

[10]  Michael Fischer,et al.  Spreading of a turbulent disturbance. , 1972 .

[11]  Scott A. Berry,et al.  Isolated Roughness Induced Boundary-Layer Transition: Shuttle Orbiter Ground Tests and Flight Experience , 1997 .

[12]  Cheatwood F. McNeil,et al.  User''s Manual for the Langley Aerothermodynamic Upwind Relaxation Algorithm (LAURA) , 1996 .

[13]  Michael An,et al.  Space Shuttle Orbiter aerodynamics induced by asymmetric boundary-layer transition , 1996 .

[14]  D. Poll,et al.  Boundary layer transition on the windward face of Space Shuttle during re-entry , 1985 .

[15]  S. Berry,et al.  Discrete Roughness Transition for Hypersonic Flight Vehicles , 2007 .

[16]  J. J. Bertin,et al.  Shuttle orbiter boundary layer transition at flight and wind tunnel conditions , 1983 .

[17]  Norman Hale,et al.  Operational Experience with Hypersonic Entry of the Space Shuttle , 2002 .

[18]  Scott A. Berry,et al.  Overview of Boundary Layer Transition Research in Support of Orbiter Return To Flight , 2006 .

[19]  Gregory N. Katnik,et al.  Debris/Ice/TPS Assessment and Photographic Analysis for Shuttle Mission STS-40 , 1991 .

[20]  S. Schneider.  Effects of Roughness on Hypersonic Boundary-Layer Transition , 2007 .

[21]  Karen T. Berger,et al.  Shuttle Damage/Repair from the Perspective of Hypersonic Boundary Layer Transition - Experimental Results , 2006 .

[22]  Charles G. Stevenson,et al.  Debris/Ice/TPS Assessment and Photographic Analysis of Shuttle Mission STS-32R , 1989 .