Design of the Sensor Pod of the Hypersonic Configurable Unit Ballistic Experiment (HyCUBE)

Abstract

This thesis outlines the main design considerations of the sensor pod of a CubeSat-like, miniature re-entry vehicle, the Hypersonic Configurable Unit Ballistic Experiment (HyCUBE), that will serve as a versatile hypersonic flight test platform. HyCUBE's proposed first mission aims to collect experimental aerothermodynamic data of a hypersonic flight environment in order to investigate the chemical reactions that occur in that environment, namely the dissociation of nitrogen and oxygen. The data to be collected will contribute to the improvement and validation of computational models and ground testing methods. Numerical simulations were used to inform vehicle design decisions, using direct Simulation Monte Carlo (DSMC) method and computational fluid dynamics (CFD), when applicable and simplified estimation simulations when more appropriate. DSMC and CFD were utilized to establish the aerodynamic characteristics of the proposed vehicle, evaluate the heat-load such that the thermal protection system can be sized, and to produce three-dimensional flow solutions to guide sensor selection and placement. Simplified estimators solved the equations of motion to produce estimates for vehicle trajectories and used closed-form models to predict the aerothermodynamic environment at the vehicle stagnation point, which allowed for quick analysis of design changes. Preliminary designs for the HyCUBE vehicle form factor and sensor suite are proposed and discussed. The expected measurement environment was also used to optimize the placement of sensors to attempt maximize the amount of useful data that will be collected.