Project FIRE
Project FIRE (Flight Investigation Reentry Environment) was a United States NASA effort to determine the effects of atmospheric entry on spacecraft materials.[1][2]
Project FIRE used both ground testing in wind tunnels and flight tests to test the effects of reentry heating on spacecraft materials, using a subscale model of the Apollo Command Module.[2]
Wind tunnel tests
[edit]Wind tunnel testing occurred at the 4-foot Unitary Plan Wind Tunnel, the High-Temperature Tunnel, and the Thermal Structures Tunnel at the Langley Research Center located in Hampton, Virginia.
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Researcher checks model of Project FIRE Reentry package to be tested in Unitary Plan Wind Tunnel. -
Test of Project FIRE model in Unitary Plan Wind Tunnel -
Project FIRE model for wind tunnel tests -
Project FIRE technicians preparing materials to be subjected to high temperatures that will simulate the effects of re-entry heating.
Flight tests
[edit]
Recoverable reentry packages were flight tested using Atlas-D rockets with Antares-2 solid fuel upperstages (used on the Scout rocket family),[3][4] launched from LC 12 at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida, United States.[5][2]
FIRE 1
[edit]The first Project FIRE reentry package was propelled to an altitude of 122 km (76 miles) by an Atlas-D Antares-2 launch vehicle (missile 263D) on 14 April 1964.[6]
Following a coasting phase that reached an apogee exceeding 800 km (500 miles) the velocity package initiated the reentry vehicle's trajectory, plunging it into a trajectory at a velocity of 11,300 m/s (25,000 mph) with a minus 15 degree trajectory.[6] As the spacecraft descended towards Earth, a solid-fuel Antares II rocket positioned behind the payload ignited for 30 seconds, elevating the descent speed to 40,501 km/h (25,166 mph).[6] Temperature data from the spacecraft's instruments were transmitted to the ground, indicating an estimated exterior temperature of 11,400 K (20,100 °F).[6]
Approximately 32 minutes post-launch, the spacecraft made impact into the Atlantic Ocean.[6]
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Gantry pull back at LC-12 for an Atlas 263D launch with Project FIRE 1 -
Atlas 263D rocket with Antares upper stage carrying Fire 1 re-entry capsule
FIRE 2
[edit]During the second trial, a propelled instrumented probe, referred to as a "flying thermometer", was launched into a ballistic trajectory over 805 km (500 miles) high by an Atlas-D Antares-2 booster (missile 264D) on 22 May 1965.[6]
As the spacecraft initiated its descent after 26 minutes of flight, the Antares II rocket accelerated its fall. The probe entered the atmosphere at a velocity of 40,877 km/h (25,400 mph), generating temperatures of approximately 11,206 K (19,711 °F).[6] Ground stations received data on heating throughout the descent.[6]
Thirty-two minutes post-launch, and a mere six minutes after the Antares ignition, the device impacted in the Atlantic Ocean approximately 8,256 km (5,130 miles) southeast of the Cape.[6]
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Project FIRE 2 reentry package -
Personnel Langley Research Center at Cape Canaveral during preliminary checkout of Project FIRE velocity package before launch -
Project FIRE 2 lifts off from launch complex 12 aboard an Atlas 264D, 22 May 1965 -
Project FIRE 2 reentry vehicle as photographed from Ascension Island -
Project FIRE 2 reentry vehicle photograph notes by photographer Robert Collie
References
[edit]- ^ Morse, Mary Louise; Bays, Jean Kernahan (1973). The Apollo Spacecraft - A Chronology (PDF). Vol. 2. NASA.
- ^ a b c Wade, Mark. "FIRE". Encyclopedia Astronautica. Retrieved 2023-11-17.
- ^ Krebs, Gunter D. "Atlas-D Antares-2". Gunter's Space Page. Retrieved 2023-11-17.
- ^ "Antares 2". astronautix.com. Retrieved 2024-05-09.
- ^ "Image of the Day Gallery". NASA. Retrieved 29 May 2013.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i Krebs, Gunter D. "Fire 1, 2". Gunter's Space Page.