Development of Flare-type Inflatable Membrane Aeroshell for Reentry Demonstration from LEO

Abstract

An inflatable decelerator is promising for a next generation atmospheric-entry system, because it can be packed compactly in the launch and cruise phase and it can be deployed to a large aerodynamic device in the atmospheric-entry phase. Our group has researched and developed this technology since 2000, focusing on a flare-type membrane aeroshell sustained by a single inflatable ring, especially. In our activity, the re-entry demonstration using a Japanese S-310 sounding rocket was carried out successfully in 2012. As a next millstone of our research and development, the re-entry demonstration from the low earth orbit is planned utilizing an opportunity for piggy-back satellites. The overview of the planned reentry demonstration is introduced in this paper. There are several important technical issues to overcome in order to realize this demonstration. Two important issues of these is also introduced. First topic is the structural strength tests using a low-speed wind tunnel to understand the structural strength of a large flare-type membrane aeroshell supported by a single inflatable ring. Second topic is an evaluation on the thermal durability of inflatable structures using a newly developed inductively coupled plasma heater.