AAWSAP DIRD, Space Access: Where We’ve Been and Where We Could Go, March 2010

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system
A ALang l
Wing- yl inder
nfigu rati n
n ep
Inadequate
lateral-directional
stability and
control
WB-004
Wing training
edge control s
Unsymmetrical
vortices can
produce super­
sonic control
problems
Cylinder heating
extends up to
55° to 60°
Poor hypersonic
lift-to-drag ratio
Glide angle of attack
Complex
very high ~ 45° compared
curved TPS
to 15° for high UO design
provide limited
limits glide range
Thin wings
control capability
encounter
for a military
severe heating
maneuver vehicle
from both sides
i.e. "hot structure"
Figure 9. NASA Langley Wing-Body Configuration WB-004 With Generally Critical Areas for Wing Bodies
Identified
With a high entry angle of attack, the cross flow over the cylinder produces high
heating rates beyond the mid-cylinder line. With a lower L/D ratio, the down and cross
ranges are limited as to what might be achieved but more in line with NASA one­
missed-orbit criterion. The thin wings are heated on both sides to create added thermal
problems, as well as added surface area to increase drag.
Al Draper and his team, together with Bob Masek's team at McDonnell Douglas
Astronautics, worked long and diligently to arrive at the FDL-7 /Model 176
configurations shown in Figure 10. The insert photo is Dale Reed's model of the FDL­
7MC radio-controlled model at NASA Dryden. The AFFDL and MDC configurations were
inherently stable at all operational angles of attack from at least mach 22 to landing
speed. The remainder of this report will focus on the characteristics of t his class of
lifting body . The statements in Figu re 10 were all based on wind tunnel data. A real
advantage of the trapezoidal shape was not only flat metallic shingles but heating on
the sides and upper surface that was at least three-fifths that of the conventional
shapes. The glide range was such that this configuration could land in CONUS from any
location on any inclination orbit from its current orbit with no waiting.
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