Staging of Two-Stage-to-Orbit Aerospace Plane

Abstract

At staging of the Two-Stage-to-Orbit aerospace plane, the engine is in the shutdown condition and the intake is in the unstarted condition. Given these conditions, the effect of drag due to the unstarted engine on the flight trajectory was investigated. Then, the effect of the engine operating condition on the pitching moment of the first-stage vehicle was examined. The net drag increased with unstarted intake, and the horizontal distance between the vehicles became larger. The change of the engine operating condition by shutdown affected the pitching moment of the first-stage vehicle.