Re-entry capsule aerodynamics

Author: Zhang Lumin
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2002-06-01
Features: In 1992, China began to develop manned spacecraft. On November 20, 1999, at 6:30 AM, the Shenzhou-1 was successfully launched into orbit. After orbiting the Earth for about 21 hours, the spacecraft's re-entry capsule landed safely at 3:41 AM on November 21 according to the predetermined program. This glorious achievement marked a new chapter for the Chinese people as they prepared to enter space. Throughout the entire process of developing the spacecraft re-entry system, aeronautics was one of the key supporting technologies. It played a pioneering role in the conceptual and preliminary research stages and was integrated throughout the development process. The technical content of this monograph fully demonstrates the prominent position of aeronautics in the development of aerospace vehicles. Driven and propelled by the manned space program, researchers from the China Aerodynamic Research and Development Center, along with national aerospace aerodynamics researchers, established and developed theoretical computational methods in areas such as re-entry capsule aerodynamics, aerothermodynamics, and aero-physics to support the aerodynamic design and performance evaluation of the capsule. Building on this foundation, the author systematically summarizes these research achievements, starting from the main characteristics of capsule aerodynamic problems, analyzing the aerodynamic communication interruption of the capsule, and discussing flight stability issues. Finally, the monograph provides a detailed discussion on the methods and content for evaluating aerodynamic characteristics and flight performance. Most of the content above is applied in the manned space program, highlighting the prominent feature of this book's technical content in combining theory with practice. For long-term, dedicated scientists and engineers who have silently contributed to the aerospace industry in the field of aerospace aerodynamics, publishing their research findings in a monograph is a commendable and encouraging effort. This monograph holds significant reference value for aerospace vehicle aerodynamic design and aerospace aerodynamics researchers.