Suborbital Reentry Flight Demonstration for 2.5 m Deployable Inflatable Flexible Aeroshell Using Sounding Rocket

The deployable aeroshell is an advanced technology that can revolutionize space transportation and planetary exploration as a new atmospheric entry system. A suborbital entry demonstration of a larger tension-shell-type inflatable aeroshell with a diameter of 2.5 m was conducted in 2023 using a sounding rocket. In this study, the flight data from this experiment were used to evaluate the aerodynamic deceleration performance of the experimental vehicle with the large aeroshell. This aeroshell functioned properly and withstood the aerodynamic loads during entry. The maximum Mach number was 7.6. The estimated angle of attack at entry was [Formula: see text], which was much higher than planned ([Formula: see text]). A large angle-of-attack attitude oscillation resulted, estimated to be [Formula: see text] in the supersonic region and [Formula: see text] in the subsonic region. Consequently, the drag coefficient was smaller than the empirical drag coefficient, based on the wind tunnel result at an angle of attack of [Formula: see text]. Despite the high angle of attack at entry, it approached the empirical drag coefficient when the Mach number was [Formula: see text], and the flight trajectory approached the simulated trajectory. Therefore, the deceleration performance was confirmed to be appropriate, and the flight attitude and attitude motion significantly affected the effective drag coefficient and flight trajectory.