Aerothermal characterization of the CALLISTO vehicle during descent

Aerothermal characterization of the CALLISTO vehicle during descent | Research Square window.SnipcartSettings = { analytics: { enabled: false } }; (function() { var accessVector = localStorage.getItem('access_vector') || ''; window.dataLayer = window.dataLayer || []; if (accessVector) { window.dataLayer.push({ user: { profile: { profileInfo: { snid: accessVector } } } }); } })(); (function(w,d,s,l,i){w[l]=w[l]||[];w[l].push({'gtm.start':new Date().getTime(),event:'gtm.js'});var f=d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0],j=d.createElement(s),dl=l!='dataLayer'?'&l='+l:'';j.async=true;j.src='https://www.googletagmanager.com/gtm.js?id='+i+dl;f.parentNode.insertBefore(j,f);})(window,document,'script','dataLayer','GTM-K279D39R'); Browse Preprints In Review Journals COVID-19 Preprints AJE Video Bytes Research Tools Research Promotion AJE Professional Editing AJE Rubriq About Preprint Platform In Review Editorial Policies Our Team Advisory Board Help Center Sign In Submit a Preprint Cite Share Download PDF Research Article Aerothermal characterization of the CALLISTO vehicle during descent Tobias Ecker, Moritz Ertl, Josef Klevanski, Sven Krummen, Etienne Dumont This is a preprint; it has not been peer reviewed by a journal. https://doi.org/ 10.21203/rs.3.rs-4679973/v1 This work is licensed under a CC BY 4.0 License Status: Published Journal Publication published 28 Aug, 2024 Read the published version in CEAS Space Journal → Version 1 posted 11 You are reading this latest preprint version Abstract Aerothermal loads are a design driving factor during launcher development as the thermal loads directly influence TPS design and trajectory. Recent developments in reusable launch vehicles (RLV) (e.g. SpaceX, Blue Origin) have added the dimension of refurbishment to the challenges the thermal design must consider. For disposable launchers the heat flux due to base heating during ascent needs to be considered for aft thermal protections system (TPS) and structural design. With the current European long term strategy moving towards a reusable first stage - aerothermal loads may significantly change. The CALLISTO vehicle is a flight demonstrator for future reusable launcher stages and their technologies. The program involves three countries and their space organizations: CNES for France, DLR for Germany and JAXA for Japan. The first tests will be conducted in 2024 from CSG, Europe's Spaceport. The challenge is to develop, all along the project, the skills of the partners. This know-how includes products and vehicle design, ground segment set up, and post-flight operations for vehicle recovery then reuse. For the CALLISTO vehicle the highest heat fluxes are mainly due to heating from hot exhaust gases and heated air in proximity of the aft bay and on the exposed structures like legs and fins. The development of the plume extension is different for the considered re-entry, when compared to Falcon 9, or other studies presented in the past. As shown in previous studies the plume remains relatively concentrated at the aft end of the vehicle due to high atmospheric pressure and only very low fractions of actual exhaust gas species enclosing the vehicle. In the current study we conducted computational fluid dynamics (CFD) studies in order to determine the aerothermal loads on the vehicle during descent through the landing approach corridor for both phase B and phase C aeroshapes. The database development for vehicle phase B and phase C are described in detail and analyzed for some of the most prominent interfaces. The final phase C database presented allows interpolation of interface heatfluxes for the entire flight domain (M, $\rho)$ at varying angle of attack (between 180 deg and 160 deg). Further the sensitivity of the plume-vehicle interaction to angle of attack, chemistry, thrust vector deflection and engine throttling are investigated for a critical Mach number indicating further area of improvement for future databases. retropropulsion reusable launcher CFD thermal loads plume Full Text Additional Declarations No competing interests reported. Cite Share Download PDF Status: Published Journal Publication published 28 Aug, 2024 Read the published version in CEAS Space Journal → Version 1 posted Editorial decision: Revision requested 30 Jul, 2024 Reviews received at journal 30 Jul, 2024 Reviews received at journal 19 Jul, 2024 Reviewers agreed at journal 09 Jul, 2024 Reviewers agreed at journal 05 Jul, 2024 Reviews received at journal 04 Jul, 2024 Reviewers agreed at journal 04 Jul, 2024 Reviewers invited by journal 04 Jul, 2024 Editor assigned by journal 04 Jul, 2024 Submission checks completed at journal 04 Jul, 2024 First submitted to journal 03 Jul, 2024 You are reading this latest preprint version Research Square lets you share your work early, gain feedback from the community, and start making changes to your manuscript prior to peer review in a journal. As a division of Research Square Company, we’re committed to making research communication faster, fairer, and more useful. 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Also discoverable on Platform About Our Team In Review Editorial Policies Advisory Board Help Center Resources Author Services Accessibility API Access RSS feed Manage Cookie Preferences © Research Square 2026 | ISSN 2693-5015 (online) Privacy Policy Terms of Service Do Not Sell My Personal Information {"props":{"pageProps":{"initialData":{"identity":"rs-4679973","acceptedTermsAndConditions":true,"allowDirectSubmit":false,"archivedVersions":[],"articleType":"Research Article","associatedPublications":[],"authors":[{"id":329370818,"identity":"d8bf92a1-1fde-4cd8-b86b-2d8857666972","order_by":0,"name":"Tobias Ecker","email":"data:image/png;base64,iVBORw0KGgoAAAANSUhEUgAAAZAAAAAyAQMAAABI0h/eAAAABlBMVEX///8AAABVwtN+AAAACXBIWXMAAA7EAAAOxAGVKw4bAAAA2klEQVRIie2OMQuCUBDHTx48l4u33lJ9hRcuBUJfxXA13FpzskV3oS/RR1AEJ/MzBIFTQ9Hi4FBkUdPTseH9hrvjuB//A9Bo/hKE9N0Brnz+rE6f8KMYCadhymcChkOUpRlnadPCRER5cbc35IPppuoUrJwsDsGiY+juvYoWAdbqGCRPpqMAVgeBFluHJOG56VWytoXtQYg7W7wU/9qr5MjBkaOIMaNLURqAZeXk45BmSVlYRlSR5FirHzN3cX67tPZURO4Zmo0theme1DEd9B35kHuNRqPRqHkAZ2M81pOA8BAAAAAASUVORK5CYII=","orcid":"","institution":"German Aerospace Center","correspondingAuthor":true,"prefix":"","firstName":"Tobias","middleName":"","lastName":"Ecker","suffix":""},{"id":329370819,"identity":"1ba61c56-ae8b-4284-acc6-22129f7039d8","order_by":1,"name":"Moritz Ertl","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"German Aerospace Center","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Moritz","middleName":"","lastName":"Ertl","suffix":""},{"id":329370820,"identity":"101704af-0dea-4c0a-b76d-aeddbeaebce4","order_by":2,"name":"Josef Klevanski","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"German Aerospace Center","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Josef","middleName":"","lastName":"Klevanski","suffix":""},{"id":329370821,"identity":"2708b34a-aa04-4b63-ab98-d277d21fde6b","order_by":3,"name":"Sven Krummen","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"German Aerospace Center","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Sven","middleName":"","lastName":"Krummen","suffix":""},{"id":329370822,"identity":"f1fb72b8-86f2-45cd-93c5-521ea7f3fb9d","order_by":4,"name":"Etienne Dumont","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"German Aerospace Center","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Etienne","middleName":"","lastName":"Dumont","suffix":""}],"badges":[],"createdAt":"2024-07-03 11:16:30","currentVersionCode":1,"declarations":"","doi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-4679973/v1","doiUrl":"https://doi.org/10.21203/rs.3.rs-4679973/v1","draftVersion":[],"editorialEvents":[{"content":"https://doi.org/10.1007/s12567-024-00561-z","type":"published","date":"2024-08-28T15:57:16+00:00"}],"editorialNote":"","failedWorkflow":false,"files":[{"id":63820883,"identity":"de181a07-7662-45b7-9f6a-a03ae0bbed7f","added_by":"auto","created_at":"2024-09-02 16:09:50","extension":"pdf","order_by":1,"title":"","display":"","copyAsset":false,"role":"manuscript-pdf","size":9184433,"visible":true,"origin":"","legend":"","description":"","filename":"CEASspacejournal.pdf","url":"https://assets-eu.researchsquare.com/files/rs-4679973/v1_covered_03c69541-9fe3-44c5-b367-c4c5b8ed445d.pdf"}],"financialInterests":"No competing interests reported.","formattedTitle":"Aerothermal characterization of the CALLISTO vehicle during descent","fulltext":[],"fulltextSource":"","fullText":"","funders":[],"hasAdminPriorityOnWorkflow":false,"hasManuscriptDocX":false,"hasOptedInToPreprint":true,"hasPassedJournalQc":"","hasAnyPriority":false,"hideJournal":false,"highlight":"","institution":"","isAcceptedByJournal":true,"isAuthorSuppliedPdf":true,"isDeskRejected":"","isHiddenFromSearch":false,"isInQc":false,"isInWorkflow":false,"isPdf":true,"isPdfUpToDate":true,"isWithdrawnOrRetracted":false,"journal":{"display":true,"email":"[email protected]","identity":"ceas-space-journal","isNatureJournal":false,"hasQc":true,"allowDirectSubmit":false,"externalIdentity":"ceas","sideBox":"Learn more about [CEAS Space Journal](http://link.springer.com/journal/12567)","snPcode":"12567","submissionUrl":"https://submission.nature.com/new-submission/12567/3","title":"CEAS Space Journal","twitterHandle":"","acdcEnabled":true,"dfaEnabled":true,"editorialSystem":"stoa","reportingPortfolio":"Springer Hybrid","inReviewEnabled":true,"inReviewRevisionsEnabled":false},"keywords":"retropropulsion, reusable launcher, CFD, thermal loads, plume","lastPublishedDoi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-4679973/v1","lastPublishedDoiUrl":"https://doi.org/10.21203/rs.3.rs-4679973/v1","license":{"name":"CC BY 4.0","url":"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/"},"manuscriptAbstract":"Aerothermal loads are a design driving factor during launcher development as the thermal loads directly influence TPS design and trajectory. Recent developments in reusable launch vehicles (RLV) (e.g. SpaceX, Blue Origin) have added the dimension of refurbishment to the challenges the thermal design must consider. For disposable launchers the heat flux due to base heating during ascent needs to be considered for aft thermal protections system (TPS) and structural design. With the current European long term strategy moving towards a reusable first stage - aerothermal loads may significantly change. The CALLISTO vehicle is a flight demonstrator for future reusable launcher stages and their technologies. The program involves three countries and their space organizations: CNES for France, DLR for Germany and JAXA for Japan. The first tests will be conducted in 2024 from CSG, Europe's Spaceport. The challenge is to develop, all along the project, the skills of the partners. This know-how includes products and vehicle design, ground segment set up, and post-flight operations for vehicle recovery then reuse. 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The final phase C database presented allows interpolation of interface heatfluxes for the entire flight domain (M, $\\rho)$ at varying angle of attack (between 180 deg and 160 deg). 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