Variable geometry manned orbital vehicle having high aerodynamic efficiency over wide speed range and incorporating auxiliary pivotal wing

Henry, B. Z., Jr.

Spencer, B., Jr.

English

NASA Technical Reports Server

9 
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VARIABLE GEOMETRY MANNED ORBITAL VEHICLE 
Filed Sept. 7. 1967 3 Sheets-Sheet 1 
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BY 
https://ntrs.nasa.gov/search.jsp?R=19710006199 2020-03-17T02:41:47+00:00Z
, SPENCER, J 
VARIABLE GEOMETRY MANNED ORBITAL VEHICLE 
Filed Sept. 7, 1967 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 
-37 
3 
0 
INVENTORS 
B € R ~ A R D  SPE 
BY BEVERLY 2 .  ~ E ~ R ~ ~  JR. 
VARIABLE GEOMETRY MANNED ORBITAL VEHICLE 
Filed Sept. 7. 1967 3 Sheets-Sheet S 
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INVENTORS 
BERNARD SPENCER, JR. 
BY 
1 
the required flight velocity spectrum from reentry to land- 
ing, with maximum crew safety as a prime consideration. 
Another object of the present invention is the provision 
of a reusable lifting reentry vehicle which employs vari- 
able sweep auxiliary wing panels to allow the retention of 
an efficient aerodynamic shape at hypersonic speeds with 
the wings retracted and to  improve the vehicle lift, lift-to- 
drag ratio, and stability characteristics at low speeds by 
deployment of the wings. 
Another object of the present invention is an improved 
reentry vehicle for use in an overall logisticdferry system. 
A further object of the present invention is a reentry 
vehicle that is readily maneuverable and controlled by an 
This invention relates to a reusable lifting reentry vehi- occupant therein to  permit conventional, horizontal land- 
Cle capable of high aerodynamic efficiency over the speed 15 ing Of the vehicle at a variety of prepared landing sites. 
range from hypersonic reentry to low speed tangential Another object of the present invention is a lifting body 
landing. This high areodynamic efficiency is made possible reentry vehicle for multimanned 'missions to enable space 
by the use of a variable geometry vehicle configuration in station crew rotation and ferrying of non-astronaut-- 
which auxiliary, pivotal wings =e incorporated allowing passengers from earth to  space stations and return. 
the mcompromised retention of an aerodynamically effi- 20 According to the present invention, the foregoing and 
cient lifting body shape at  hypersonic speeds with the other objectives are attained by providing a reentry vehicle 
auxiliary wings folded into a stored position. At lower developed from a basic theoretical minimum-hypersonic- 
speeds the auxiliary wings are deployed at sweep angles wavedrag body shape of elliptical cross section modified by 
decreasing from 90" to 00 as speed decreases providing (1) the inclusion of nose bluntness to reduce aerodynamic 
improvements in lift, lift-drag ratio, and in the stability 25 heating at this point, ( 2 )  the addition of two highly cam- 
bered, deployable, wing panels to improve the lift, lift- characteristics of the vehicle. 
to-drag ratio and stability characteristics at supersonic 
and subsonic speeds, ( 3 )  the inclusion Of a canopy to 
provide pilot vision and an aft extension Of this canopy to 
30 provide environmental protection of the wing panels when 
in the stored position, and (4) the addition of aft Vertical 
and horizontal control surfaces to provide longitudinal 
and lateral stability. 
~~~i~~ fie boost, orbital, and reentry phases of the 
35 flight the deployable wing panels are stored out Of the 
vehicle flow field protected from the Severe heating en- 
vironment. ~ ~ ~ l ~ ~ i ~ ~  the reentry phase of the flight the 
attitude of the vehicle is adjusted to produce maximum 
vehicle recovery appears dependent upon parachute-con- 
trolled descent into the where the vehicle may be vehicle is maneuvered toward the selected landing site. 
by standy recovery &ips. Due to the manpower As the speed of the vehicle is reduced to the supersonic 
and equipment involved this obvious~y is an expensive and regime, and the regions of high aerodynamic heating have 
timeconsuming procedure and improvements in vehicle 45 been traversed, the wings may herein be deployed s i m ~ l -  
conventional, aircraft-type, landing at any one of the creases, simultaneously improving the lift, lift-to-drag 
many airfields in the country would be highly desirable, ratio, and stability characteristics of the vehicle. As the 
especially with the anticipated increased frequency of vehicle approaches the landing site the wings are fully 
launch and return from orbit. Considerable research has 5o unswept as is conventional in the landing of variable sweep 
been conducted in an effort to obtain a reliable reentry aircraft. 
During the landing maneuver trailing edge flaps on the vehicle configuration that can 'be effectively maneuvered 
by the vehicle occupant(s) and landed in similar fashion wings Can be deployed to further increase the lift and 
to conventional aircraft. A major obstacle to  achievement reduce the fonvalid velocity at touchdown. While the 
of this objective has been the inherent incompatability 55 normal mode for landing a vehicle of this type is the 
between aerodynamic configurations capable of good per- glide type the use of a small Propulsion system allows 
formance at hypersonic speeds and those capable of con- the vehicle to be flown as a conventionallY Powered air- 
ventional, horizontal landing at  subsonic speeds. This craft for range extension Or recovery from a missed aP- 
incompatability manifests itself in that configurations Preach to the tO~Chdown P in t .  
capable of surviving the severe environmental conditions 60 The vehicle of the Present invention is capable of trans- 
of reentry and of providing high aerodynamic performance Porting a three-man crew and at least six non-astronaut- 
at hypersonic speeds are incapable due to their required tVpe passengers between earth and other planets or space 
shape of providing sufficient lift and lift-to-drag ratio for stations. An airlock port is provided in the aft end of 
low speed operation. The design approach normally taken the vehicle to permit ingress and egress of the crew and 
is to  compromise the hypersonic shape to provide suffi- &5 passengers when the vehicle is docked to  a space station 
cient lift and lift-to-drag ratio at low speeds with the result or  the like. AS previously stated, a suitable propulsion 
that performance is reduced at hypersonic speeds and is system may also be provided in the vehicle when needed 
marginal at subsonic speeds. to  extend maneuver capability more than permitted in its 
Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to natural glide to a selected landing site. 
provide a lifting body configuration for multimanned or- 70 A more complete appreciation of the invention and 
bital vehicles that can be operated in an aerodynamically many of the attendant advantages thereof will be readily 
efficient manner and )maneuvered by the vehicle crew over understood by reference to the following detailed descrip- 
Bermard Spencer, h., 
Jr., YQrk~Qwn, Va., assi Ti 
America as represented by the A d ~ ~ i ~ ~ a ~ o r  of the 
National Aeronautics and Space A ~ ~ ~ s t r a ~ Q n  
7, 1967, Ser. No. 667,625 
64c 25/00,31 /OO, 37/00 
@'aims 10 
A @T 4BP T 
SPECIFICATION 
This invention was made by employees of the National 
Aeronautics and Space Administration and may be manu- 
factured and used 'by or for the United States Government 
without the payment Of any royalties thereon Or therefor. 
One Of the prime problems encountered thus far in 
manned space flight is the limited methods of returning 
space vehicles through the earth's atmosphere to a Safe re- 
covery area. In the Mercury and Gemini Programs, and as 
preseqtly anticipated in the APO110 program, safe space 40 lift, maximum lift-to-drag ratio, or Some intermediate depending on he specific mission and the 
&scent characteristics to permit maneuverable flight and taneously with the sweep decreasing as 'peed de- 
3 , 534,924 
ti.on when considered in co ection with the accompany- carrying less than the allo d passengers. As shown in 
ing drawings wherein: this figure, the airlock passageway 43 is openable adja- 
FIG. 1 is a top view of the reentry vehicle according cent to  the passenger compartment which readily permits 
to  the present invention and illustrating the variable speed passenger and crew mobility therethrough 
auxiliary wing panels; space station crews and the like. Vehicle 
FIG. 2 is a side view of the vehicle shown in FIG. 1 with suitable thermal protection shieldin 
and schematically showing the vehicle landing gear; lower body surface, the horizontal tails, and portions of 
FIG. 3 is a rear view of the vehicle shown in FIG. 1; the upper surfaces as required. Movable panels 47 and 
FIG. 4 is a somewhat schematic sectional view of the 49 Of shielding material 45 permit extension of the nose 
interior of the vehicle illustrated in FIG. 1; and gear and the main landing gear its schematically illustrated 
FIGS. 5a-5e represent a voyage sequence of events in in FIG. 2. The landing gears form a conventional tri- 
launching, orbiting operation, docking with a space sta- CYcle-tYPe landing gear consisting of a forward skid 51 
tion, reentry and touchdown on a landing strip. and a pair of rear skids 52: and 53, or in the alternative 
Referring now more particularly to the drawings, the skids can be replaced With wheel's. 
wherein like reference numerals designate identical parts 15 Referring now more Particularly to FIGS. 5a-Se where 
throughout the several views, and more particularly to a schematic representation of a complete space flight is 
FIGS. 1 and 2, there is shown a reentry vehicle generally shown, the operation of the pres 
designated by reference numeral 1%. Vehicle 11 is a multi- mderstood. FIG. 5a shows the ve 
manned reentry vehicle derived from a basic lifting body from earth E by a suitable rocket 
conforming to a theoretical hypersonic minimum wave 20 ing the launch phase of the mission wings 24 and 29 re- 
drag body of elliptical cross section modified by nose main in the retracted Position s h o w  in FIG. 1. Follow- 
bluntness. A vertical tail 13 is disposed along the vehicle ing the boost phase vehicle 19 separates from the launch 
mean center line at the aft end thereof and contains a vehicle 51 (FIG. 5b) and establishes its orbit in a 
conventional rudder assembly 15 for directional mntrol Conventional manner. Additional cargo may be carried 
at the lower speeds. Center vertical tail $3 is essentially 25 within a structure used to  secure and aerodynamically 
a flat plate in section and is provided with a rounded fair the vehicle 11 to the launch vehicle 51. This adaptor 
leading edge and a blunt trailing edge. A pair of hori- Structure iS jettisoned prior to starting the reentry maneu- 
zontal trails 14 and B9 are also provided at the aft end ver. 
Of vehicle 11 and extend therefrom at a dihedral angle Vehicle 11 may then be maneuvered by the crew 
such as to provide longitudinal and lateral control; in 30 through the use of propulsion rockets 39, 41 and/or other 
the case shown at a dihedral angle of -300. Elevons '$1 Control jets, not shown, to  rendezvous and dock with 
and 23 are movably secured to horizontal tails 17 and manned space station 53 which has previously been 
19 respectively for pitch and roll control. Horizontal tails "parked" in a specific orbit as schematically illustrated 
1'1 and 19 are essentially triangnlar in planform and are in FIG. 5. After docking with space station 53, crews 
provided with semicylindrical leading edges and a leading 35 andlor Passengers may be exchanged; stores, scientific 
edge sweep of approximately 63". Conventional control test equipment and the like may be loaded and unloaded 
actuators, not shown in the interest of clarity, provide through airlock 43 which connects with a similar air- 
selective movement of d l  control surfaces in a conven- lock, not shown, on space station 53. After accomplishing 
tional manner. A raised canopy 25 is provided on the this Operation, reentry vehicle 11 may effect separation 
upper side of vehicle 11 to provide for the ve- 40 from Space station 53 and take itself out of orbit through 
hicle crew during the landing maneuver. A pair of pivot- the application of retrothrust at a predetermined point 
able, highly Cambered variable sweep wings 27 and 29 above the earth's surface and descend into the earth's 
are disposed aft of canopy 25 and are selectively movable atmosphere along a predetermined trajectory. 
about their respective pivot points 39 and 33 through a phase Of the flight, 
(E"-90" angle Sweep, as will $e further explained here- 45 operates as a lifting body with reaction controls, 
inafter. Wings 27 and 29 have a St. Cyr 156 (Royer) 
cambered airfoil section, a taper ratio of 0.75, an aspect 
ratio of 10, and a maximum thickness ratio of o.18. High 
lift devices in the for of extensible flaps 35 are disposed 
the aft body surfaces of the vehicle 11. The afterbody 
flaps 37 are used for trim control of the vehicle at the 
During the 
shown, being utilized to position the vehicle in the proper 
atihde, approximately 45" angle of attack, for reentry 
into the atmosphere in a manner to minimize the aero- 
dynamic heating load. During reentry the vehicle structure 
and its contents are protected from the heating by the 
fective and are selectively activated to maneuver the 
mum lift, maximum lift-to-drag ratio, or some inter- 
On the edges Of the deployable wing panels 27 50 thermal protective shielding 45. within the atmosphere and 29 and afterbdy flaps ST are disposed On the aerodynamic controls 21, 23, 37 and 15 become ef- 
higher flight speeds and have a ratio of flap chord to body a gliding flight path corresponding to maxi- 
length Of apwoximately .0g8 and a ratio Of flap area to 55 mediate path depending on the mission and range re- 
body planform area of approximateb .097. The leading 
edges Of the wings 27 and 29, the horizontal tails 97 
the high temperature environment by the use Of apProPri- 
quirement to fie selected landing site. ~h~ vericle flies 
as a lifting body along a controlled gliding path until 
supersonic values at which point deployment of the vari- 
and 19, and the vertical tail 13, are all protected against 
ate heat resistant materials. 
view of vehicle 1% shows exhaust nozzles 3 and 
the speed is reduced by aerodynamic drag to moderate 
able sweep wing panels 27 and 29 (FIG. 1) is begun. 
Referring more particularly to 3* the rear The wings are progressively deployed as speed decreases 
in a manner to maximize lift-to-drag ratio and to  provide 
leading from 
as additional propulsion for 
propdsion motors which may be the desired stability characteristics, As the vehicle velocity 
decreases to subsonic and the landing site is approached 1% when necessary 
the wings are fully deployed, the high lift flaps 35 are 
vehicle lands as a conventional aircraft, 
in maneuvering to a specific landing area. opening 43 in 65 
vehicle 11 is an airlock passageway which permits crew 
and passenger ingress and egres between vehicle extended, the landing gear 51 and 52 are extended and the 
a space station or the like. 
Referring now to FIG. 4, the schematic illustration of Wings 27 and 29 thus provide vehicle 11 with a high 
the interior of 11 is shown. Vehicle 11 is design& 70 lift and lift-to-drag ratio a t  subsonic speeds and per- 
to carry a crew of two-three and additional passengers mits the crew to pilot the craft to the desired landing 
or non-astronaut-type occupants of as many as six-seven. strip 55 or alternate landing strips 57 Or 58 and land 
In addition, some cargo space is provided for transfer- horizontally as in conventional aircraft and as shown 
ring stores from earth to  an orbiting space station with schematically in FIG. 5e. As mentioned hereinbefore, 
additional storage space being possible at the penalty of 75 if it is determined that the glide flight Of vehicle 11 Will 
and 
3,534,924 
not permit the distance required for a selected landing 
strip, or if it becomes necessary to recover from a missed 
landing, rocket engines 39 and 41  can be actuated to pro- 
vide propulsion to the vehicle for limited distances. 
Although only a preferred embodiment and operation 
of the present invention has been shown and described, it 
is to be understood that various modifications and varia- 
tions of the present invention are possible in the light of 
the above teachings and such modifications may be made 
therein without departing from the spirit and scope of the 
invention as set forth in the appended claims. For ex- 
ample, although the invention has been described herein 
solely for use in ferry transport between earth and an 
orbiting space station, it should be understood that the 
vehicle is also capable of use within the earth's atmos- 
phere as a craft capable of extreme velocities, and capable 
of use as a ferry vehicle between the various planets. 
Qbviously modifications of this type and others are pos- 
sible by merely employing more powerful propulsion sys- 
tems for the limited propulsion units 39 and 41 de- 
scribed. 
It is therefore to  be understood that the invention may 
be practiced otherwise than as specifically described. 
What is claimed as new and desired to be secured by 
Letters Patent of the United States is: 
I. A reusable, lifting, reentry vehicle having high aero- 
dynamic efficiency in the speed range of hypersonic to 
low speed landing speeds comprising: 
a blunted body configuration of modified elliptical cross 
a vertical tail for said body disposed along the means 
a raised canpoy on said body and disposed forward of 
horizontal tail means fixed on said body, 
afterbody flaps on the aft end of said body, 
variable sweep wings for said body and progressively 
movable from a 01" sweep position completely over- 
lying said body at  hypersonic speds to a position 90" 
section, 
centerline thereof, 
said vertical tail, 
5 
10 
15 
20 
25 
30 
35 
relevant to the body longitudinal axis a t  landing 
speed, 
said variable sweep wings being highly cambered air- 
froil sections with high lift flaps being provided ex- 
tensible from the trailing edge thereof, and 
wherein said horizontal tails are triangular in plan- 
form, have rounded leading edges and a leading 
edge sweep of approximately 63 ", with movable ele- 
vons provided thereon for pitch and roll control. 
wherein the after- 
body flaps have a ratio of the flap chord to the vehicle 
body length of approixmately 0.098 and a ratio of the 
flap area to the body reference area of approximately 
0.097. 
3. The reentry vehicle of claim 1 wherein said variable 
sweep wings are provided with a cambered airfoil sec- 
tion and have a taper ratio of 0.75, an aspect ratio of 1Ob 
and a maximum thickness ratio of 0. 
4. The reentry vehicle of claim 
means at the aft end of said body 
passenger ingress and egress and to permit transfer of 
stores to and from said vehicle. 
References Cite 
UNITED STATES PATENTS 
2. The reentry vehicle of claim 
2,774,556 12/1956 
3,104,079 9/1963 
3,132,825 5/1964 
3,276,722 10/1966 
3,289,974 12/1966 
3,292,881 12/1966 
3,369,771 2/1968 
3,390,853 7/1968 
Robert _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _  2 4 4 - 4 6  
Phillips _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _  244-1 
Postle et al. _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _  244-1 
Eggers e t  al. _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _  244-1 
Cohen et al. _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _  244-1 
Ricard __,-- _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _  2 4 4 - 4 6  
Walley et  al. _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _  244-1 
Wykes _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _  244-1 
BENJAMIN A. BORCHELT, Primary Examiner 
T. H. WEBB, Assistant Examiner 
US. C1. X.R. 
244-46, 49 


Variable geometry manned orbital vehicle Patent

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