The recovery of the valuable equipment such as an avionics module on the expendable launch vehicle is important for its cost-reduction etc. For such an aim, we propose an expandable recovery vehicle based on a wave-rider concept. This is because the storability and the cross-range capability are key issues for such a vehicle and both of them can be accomplished by the proposed vehicle. The present vehicle has a configuration of a triangular pyramid toppled over sideways, all the side face, except the basement, of which are made of flexible material. Because of its flexibility, the vehicle can be deployed from the stowed configuration before the recovery. Furthermore, because of the flexibility of the bottom side face, it can be deformed so that the shock wave underneath it is attracted to the bottom of the vehicle like the wave-rider. In the present paper, we have confirmed its feasibility including the aerodynamic performance which was investigated by the wind tunnel testing.
Wave Rider効果を利用した展開型回収機の概念とその成立性
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