Exfit Flight Design and Structural Modeling for Falcon LAUNCH VIII Sounding Rocket

<p>This research effort furthers the Air Force's study of reusable launch vehicles and hypersonic airfoils by conducting a hypersonic flight test using the US Air Force Academy's Falcon LAUNCH VIII sounding rocket. In this study two experimental fin tips were designed and attached to the sounding rocket in place of two stabilizer fins in order to collect data throughout the rocket's hypersonic flight profile. The desire to research study and test experimental fin tips was driven by the Air Force Research Laboratory's Future responsive Access to Space Technologies (FAST) program and their desire to include vertical stabilizers on the wing tips of reusable launch vehicles (RLVs). In this research study finite element models of the experimental fin tips were developed and used to predict the flight data collected by the strain and temperature gages attached to the test specimen. The results of these flight prediction tests showed that the test specimen will undergo the greatest deflection and strain during the acceleration of the rocket. Maximum deflection and strain gage readings were obtained at a speed of Mach 2.5 at an altitude of 9k feet. Ultimately the payload will undergo a maximum deflection of 0.6 inches at the fin tip and a maximum strain gage reading of 0.00122 on the main wing section of the payload.</p><p>This work has been selected by scholars as being culturally important and is part of the knowledge base of civilization as we know it. This work was reproduced from the original artifact and remains as true to the original work as possible. Therefore you will see the original copyright references library stamps (as most of these works have been housed in our most important libraries around the world) and other notations in the work.</p><p>This work is in the public domain in the United States of America and possibly other nations. Within the United States you may freely copy and distribute this work as no entity (individual or corporate) has a copyright on the body of the work.</p><p>As a reproduction of a historical artifact this work may contain missing or blurred pages poor pictures errant marks etc. Scholars believe and we concur that this work is important enough to be preserved reproduced and made generally available to the public. We appreciate your support of the preservation process and thank you for being an important part of keeping this knowledge alive and relevant.</p><br>