SEPARATION DYNAMICS OF STRAP-ON BOOSTERS IN THE ATMOSPHERE

The dynamics associated with the jettisoning of a strap-on booster fro m the parent launch vehicle is investigated. The present analysis acco unts for experimental aerodynamics of separation utilizing a two step method that employs a wind tunnel in a problem-solving mode. The first step consists of collecting wind-tunnel test results at a large numbe r of points in the multidimensional space of independent variables. A suitable approach for surface fitting to the data leads to empirical m odels of the aerodynamic behavior, which are used in numerical simulat ions to design the appropriate separation system. The suitability of t his design is examined, as a second step, through extensive simulation s using the wind tunnel as a hardware subroutine to generate aerodynam ic forces and moments. Two strap-on boaster configurations are used fo r illustration.