Development status of the re-entry spectrometer RESPECT for the ESA capsule EXPERT
- Paper number
IAC-07-D2.5.11
- Author
Mr. Sebastian Lein, University of Stuttgart, Germany
- Coauthor
Kornelia Stubicar, Germany
- Coauthor
Frank Deuble, Germany
- Coauthor
- Coauthor
Mrs. Monika Auweter-Kurtz, Institute of Space Systems, Germany
- Coauthor
Dr. Georg Herdrich, Germany
- Coauthor
Mr. Michael Winter, University of Stuttgart, Germany
- Coauthor
Mr. Thomas Reimer, Deutsches Zentrum fur Luft und Raumfahrt e.V. (DLR), Germany
- Year
2007
- Abstract
Thermal and mechanical loads onto a space vehicle’s surface during re-entry are mainly defined by the plasma state and its chemical composition close to the wall in the post shock regime. Although various numerical codes have been developed to simulate these conditions, in-flight data which can be used to verify the numerical simulation are still poor. Existing experimental data concentrate on single species such as NO-radiation, or as it considers multiple species they give only limited information since they originate from conditions at too low temperatures. Experiments that give information about multiple important species, i.e. the main components of the Earth atmosphere, within the post shock regime at the same time have not been performed yet. One way to gain the required data is given by emission spectroscopic measurements during the re-entry flight. With such a sensor system information about the plasma state in the post shock regime can be obtained by measuring the spectrally resolved radiation onto the surface. Due to the integrating character of the measurement, an extraction of temperatures or densities directly from the measured data appears to be very complex; however, the desired information can be obtained from a comparison with numerical data. An experiment to gain the required data during re-entry flights is represented by the RESPECT (RE-entry SPECTrometer) sensor system, which is under development at the Institute of Space Systems as a contribution to ESA’s EXPERT (EXPErimental Re-entry Testbed) program. A spectrometer system represents a sophisticated sensor system. However, it must withstand the harsh environment of an atmospheric return. Therefore, an extensive test campaign is foreseen to qualify the flight experiment against the EXPERT environment, consisting of thermal testing, mechanical testing, and functional testing. All tests will be performed using the RESPECT engineering and qualification models. For thermal testing the RESPECT sensor head models are integrated in IRS plasma wind tunnels PWK3 and PWK2. Mechanical testing concentrates on shaker facility tests yielding eigenfrequencies of the sensor system and sustainability against the mechanical loads of Volna launch and ballistic re-entry. The functional test campaign focuses on the sensor system control to adjust the integration time of the spectrometer CCD and to react on incidents likely to occur during the re-entry flight. Analysis of the spectra captured during functional testing in PWK3 using air plasma, can be used to gain knowledge about to be expected measurement signals during EXPERT re-entry. In this paper, an overview about the RESPECT qualification testing is given, including the approach and the results of the different test objectives.
- Abstract document
- Manuscript document
IAC-07-D2.5.11.pdf (🔒 authorized access only).
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