Supersonic Braking Devices for Booster Recovery

Design, preliminary development, and functional verification of a prototype of a supersonic breaking device for the recovery launcher boosters.

Supersonic Retro Propulsion (SRP) is a technique to augment the deceleration capabilities of launchers boosters returning from space. SRP involves upstream-pointing thrusters that supplement (and, potentially, increase) the body?s aerodynamic drag to ensure a sufficient velocity reduction. Rocket Solid Propellant (RSP) is often used in combination with supersonic braking devices to stabilize the boosters in the correct attitude at firing time.While some activities have been initiated to mature the development in Europe of the RSP, no special attention has been paid so far to the complex aspect of the supersonic braking devises.One of the objectives of this activity is to improve the understanding of key flow physics of supersonic braking devises applied to launch boosters recovery and develop design guidelines for future applications. Current state-of-the-art predictive tools do not accurately capture the complex aerothermodynamics of such a devices, especially potentially-critical unsteady effects. This project will combine numerical and experimental tools to address this shortcoming.This activity encompasses the following tasks:- Design and preliminary development of a prototype of a supersonic breaking device for the recovery launcher boosters. This task shall allow the improvement of the understanding of key flow physics of supersonic braking devises applied to launch boosters recovery. A comprehensive analysis of launchers, boosters and possible solution shall be studied.- Testing of the prototype of the supersonic breaking device for the recovery launcher boosters system in a functional representative scenario. This can be inside wind tunnel test and using a drop test from a balloon, etc.- Evaluation of test results and creation of a development roadmap for technology maturation. Develop design guidelines for future applications.