Space Access Capability Boosted by Wind Tunnel Test Success Published Dec. 11, 2009 By Ms. Heidi Wilkin Air Vehicles WRIGHT-PATTERSON AIR FORCE BASE, Ohio -- With help from Air Force Research Laboratory, the Air Force is pursuing a Reusable Booster System concept as the potential next step towards a low-cost space access capability. Whereas current booster systems are entirely expendable and require long lead times prior to launch, an RBS equipped with boostback capability--such as the one recently tested in Arnold Engineering Development Center wind tunnel facilities--could facilitate launch-site turnaround of a vehicle in less than 48 hrs and vehicle launch prep in less than 8 hrs. This successful test effort supports AFRL's Future-responsive Access to Space Technologies program, including the initiation of follow-on flight demonstrators. Further, the test highlights a new test capability housed at the AEDC (located at Arnold Air Force Base, Tennessee)--specifically, the capability to study jet interactions between nozzles and a test article over wide-ranging angles of attack. For the boostback wind tunnel test activity, researchers took the test article from a -2° angle of attack to a +180° angle of attack, with and without air flowing through the article in order to simulate rocket plumes at Mach 4 and Mach 5. The resulting force, moment, and pressure data will assist efforts to determine vehicle stability and control characteristics throughout the boostback maneuver, with further testing required to fully validate the maneuver's viability.