Overview of acoustic and sonic boom advancements during development of NASA launch vehicles

Abstract

During the study and development of NASA space vehicles, acoustic environments have been a critical design input. This paper surveys some of the key challenges and focuses on the contributions and collaborations of Kenneth J. Plotkin/Wyle Laboratories with various NASA centers and personnel. In the mid-1960’s and early 1970’s, a method for predicting in-flight fluctuating environments for vehicle systems was developed for the Saturn Development Programs at NASA Marshall Space Flight Center (MSFC). With the Space Shuttle Vehicle development in the 1970’s, sonic boom became a concern and sonic boom focusing was studied. Attention was turned to the Space Shuttle Orbiter entry maneuvers during the approach to the KSC landing site. In 1993, a PC version for sonic boom prediction was developed for the National Launch System study. Near-field pressure data from computational fluid dynamics analyses were used to develop the shape factors used in the X-33 sonic boom analyses. For the X-34 sonic boom analyses, the influence of plumes on the shape factor was included. In the 2000s, rocket noise prediction software at the KSC launch platform was developed for the Constellation Program. All this acoustic work is being leveraged on NASA’s latest vehicle, the Space Launch System.