Aerodynamic characteristics of the 140A/B space shuttle orbiter at Mach 10.3

A wind-tunnel investigation was conducted to determine the static longitudinal and lateral-directional characteristics of the 140/B space shuttle orbiter configurations. A 0.010-scale model was tested at angles of attack from 12 deg to 36.5 deg at Reynolds numbers ranging from 0.62 x to 1.33 x based on fuselage reference length. Stability, control, and performance characteristics were obtained for several deflections of the elevons and body flap. Effects of aileron deflection on roll control and longitudinal stability were also measured. The results indicate that the orbiter is neutrally stable at a 20 degs angle of attack with control deflections set at 0 degs and the center of gravity at 65 percent of fuselage length. For a typical entry attitude of 30 degs stable trim resulting in a lift-drag ratio of 1.40 is possible. Increasing the Reynolds number yielded higher values of lift-drag ratio, but only for angles of attack up to 24 degs. The orbiter is directionally unstable with positive dihedral effect. Aileron deflection resulted in adverse yaw to roll control and also caused negative increments in pitching moment over the test angle-of-attack range.