Abstract
The concept of re-entry vehicles with flexible aeroshells made from elastic material is proposed. The advantages of utilizing membrane aeroshell for reusable launch vehicle are discussed. The results show that the use of membrane aeroshells can achieve very low ballistic coefficients and make surface temperature less than the maximum temperature of metal TPS and ZYRON fiber for the main body and membrane aeroshell, respectively. Furthermore, this type of vehicle is expected to have the advantage of allowing the reduction in TPS mass. The results of numerical and experimental studies on the characteristics of membrane aeroshells in supersonic flows are also presented.
