Drop Testing with the NASA Ames Hover Test Vehicle
- Paper number
IAC-09.D5.1.6
- Author
Dr. Christopher Boshuizen, NASA - Ames Research Center, United States
- Year
2009
- Abstract
The NASA Ames Hover Test Vehicle (HTV) is a robust, ground-based test vehicle designed to provide an instructional platform for a spacecraft development team. Using the onboard cold-gas propulsion system, the HTV has previously been shown to be capable of around 6 seconds of tethered or free-flight hover capability (see IAC-08-B4.8.3). While highly instructional, d testing is less representative of a planetary landing scenario than drop testing. We present the evolution from hover testing to drop testing with the HTV. We describe the evolutionary steps towards more challenging drop tests, the test environment and configuration, and show how the flight software has been adapted to these different test conditions. We also compare the achieved results with the theoretical limit for cold-gas drop testing with our vehicle, and how this differs from a realistic landing on the Moon with a space-capable vehicle.
- Abstract document
- Manuscript document
(absent)