The document provides an overview of the EXPERT project, which aims to obtain flight measurements of critical aerothermodynamic phenomena during re-entry to validate modeling tools and technologies. Key points: - EXPERT will be launched via submarine from the Pacific and follow a suborbital trajectory, collecting data during re-entry from 100km altitude at speeds up to 5km/s before landing in Kamchatka. - The capsule has extensive instrumentation to measure heating, flows, and material performance. 14 scientific payloads will collect data on phenomena like shock waves. - Development is led by Thales Alenia Space with contributions from 6 European countries. Launch and recovery is provided by Russia.

1. EXPERT status| 11/05/2011
Jose Gavira
EXPERT Project Manager
7th ATD Symposium
Bruge, 11th May 2011
EXPERT
European eXPErimental Re-entry Testbed

2. EXPERT status| 11/05/2011
Outline
EXPERT objectives: Re-entry and Aerothermodynamic
Mission overview: Launch, trajectory and landing scenario
System architecture & driving environments
Development Status :
Payloads and Instrumentation
Vehicle and subsystems
Launcher and Russian elements
Conclusions

3. EXPERT status| 11/05/2011
EXPERT the ESA test bed
From Experimental to Operational systems
TRL, Reliability, Performances
Class 1
Class 3
Class 2
Build from experience gained in pastBuild from experience gained in past
projectsprojects --> ARD, X38> ARD, X38

4. EXPERT status| 11/05/2011
EXPERT objectives
To obtain in-flight measurements of critical
AD/ATD phenomena for:
– Validation of CFD tools
– Validation of wind tunnel test facilities
– Consolidation of ground-to-flight
extrapolation methodologies
Reduce design margin and uncertainties
Provide a test bed for experimentation
To demonstrate re-entry technologies
Ceramic and metallic hot structure
Sensors for ATD measurements
To improve and develop technologies for re-
entry systems, increasing TRL
To provide European industry with flight
experience in re-entry/transportation vehicles
CFD Ground Testing
Facilities
In flight data ???

5. EXPERT status| 11/05/2011
Mission overview
– Capsule conical shape & Blunt nose
– Lateral flat sides & Four fixed open flaps
– 1.6 m length & 1.1 m diam., mass 450 Kg
– Submarine Launched from the Pacific
Ocean by VOLNA launcher
– Suborbital ballistic trajectory, at 100 Km
with entry speed of 5km/sec.
– Soil landed in Russian
Kamchatka Peninsula
– Data stored in solid state,
crash resistant memories
EXPERT trajectory VOLNA Launcher
3-rd stage
PL zone
2-nd stage
fuel tank
2-nd stage
oxidizer tank
2-nd stage
propulsion
system
1-st stage
oxidizer tank
1-st stage
fuel tank
1-st stage
propulsion
system

6. EXPERT status| 11/05/2011
Trajectory overview

7. EXPERT status| 11/05/2011
Launcher Environment
– 3-stage Launch Vehicle
– Mounted upside down inside 2nd stage
– Quasi-static loads of 8 g long. / ±2 g lateral
– Random loads 7 GRMS & Acoustic 134 dB
– High frequency shock dimensioning for
equipment
– 2nd/3rd stage separation dimensioning for
main structures:
– Rapid de-pressurisation
– Acoustic shock
– Low frequency structural shock

8. EXPERT status| 11/05/2011
Re-entry environment
Heat flux distributions over time (w/m^2)
as input to thermo-mechanical analysis
Mach 10
Mach 18
Mach 12
Mach 16 Mach 13.5
Heat flux distributions (w/m^2) as input to thermo-mechanical analysis

9. EXPERT status| 11/05/2011
System Architecture
- TPS metallic and ceramic Nose and flaps
- Internal (cold) structure in Al Sandwich
(IF with electronics, PLs and sensors)
- Sensors and instruments in TPS
- Descent and Landing System
- IF with launcher and rear insulation

10. EXPERT status| 11/05/2011
Power subsystem
Power Control Distribution Unit
8 unregulated power supply lines, 22-33 V dc
Latching Current Limiters for protection from
possible failures induced by users
Embedded pyro control unit capable of
managing up to 14 pyro-lines
Anti-Vibration Mounts (AVMs) needed to cope
with mechanical environment
Batteries : Li-Ion, procured from SAFT
Modular concept employing 8 off-the-shelf
MPS176065 cells connected in series
300 Wh @ 20°C, 270 Wh @ 5°C, altogether
Charged two months before launch

11. EXPERT status| 11/05/2011
Avionics system and SW
ON-BOARD SOFTWARE
Data Acquisition Unit main scheduler freq.  100 Hz
Common Payloads protocol (RS-422)
Data time-tagging with respect activation command

12. EXPERT status| 11/05/2011
Scientific Payloads
Nose Ceramic CMC Nose cap Assembly
P/L #01 FADS Flush Air Data System
P/L #02 PYREX Nose Heating
P/L #03 PHLUX Catalysis
P/L #04 Natural transition
P/L #05 Roughness induced transition
P/L #06 SWBLI onto Flaps
P/L #07 SWBLI ahead of Flaps
P/L #08 Flap Heating
P/L #10 RESPECT Shock-layer chemistry spectrometry
P/L #11 Nose-TPS Step Junction
P/L #12 Base Flow
P/L #13 SFS - Skin Friction Sensors
P/L #15 Flying Winglet - Sharp Hot Structure “SHS”
P/L #18 Inter-metallic TPS Flight Experiment
Payloads and Instruments fully qualified

13. EXPERT status| 11/05/2011
Payloads development
– CFD (Flux) analyses were iterated
with thermo-mechanical analyses
(CIRA, VKI, TU Delft, ESA)
– Nonlinear thermo-mechanical
analysis of TPS (Dutch Space)
– Material Samples and Payloads
tests in L3K (DLR) and PWK3 (IRS)
facilities
– Scale model tests in Longshot and
H3 facilities (VKI)
– Flap tests at Scirocco (CIRA)
(IR Camera and flap sensors)

14. EXPERT status| 11/05/2011
Payloads qualification
Plasma test
Aerodynamic test
Mechanical and
thermal test

15. EXPERT status| 11/05/2011
– Flights Models (FMs) test campaign concluded
– FMs delivered and integrated in the vehicle
Payloads development

16. EXPERT status| 11/05/2011
– Facility:
– Scirocco 70MW Plasma Windtunnel Facility (CIRA Capua),
designed to qualify TPS on large scale subsystem level
– Test Article:
– Full Scale ceramic EXPERT Flap
(MT-A Augsburg)
– Instrumentation:
– pressure ports (DLR-IAS-HY, Cologne)
– Thermocouples (DLR-IAS-HY, Cologne)
– Flight IR camera
(RUAG, Zürich)
SCIROCCO
Development test

17. EXPERT status| 11/05/2011
PL07(CIRA)
PL06(DLR-IAS-HY)
PL08(RUAG)
– Understanding of Performance of Aerodynamic
Control Surfaces is key to:
– Performance
– Reliability
– Safety of space planes
– EXPERT control surfaces are heavily instrumented
by an international team
– Flight Data exploitation will be lead by DLR-IAS-HY
– Control Surface performance was critical at STS-1
due to incorrect prediction
Predictions
CIRA DLR-IAS-RF
Control Surface Instrumentation
SCIROCCO test
Scientific Background

18. EXPERT status| 11/05/2011
– Facility performed flawlessly (CIRA)
– Flap without degradation after test (MT-A)
– Instrumentation performed accurately (DLR-IAS-HY)
– Preliminary data shows qualitative agreement with predictions with
respect to:
– Material performance
– Temperature characteristics (RUAG)
– Flow direction features
Hardware after test
High speed during test
Infrared during test
SCIROCCO tests
Campaign Results

19. EXPERT status| 11/05/2011
– External Vehicle TPS is delivered to TAS-I
(Nose, Flaps, Metallic Body and insulation)
– Internal cold structure delivered to TAS-I
( Electronics and payloads integrated)
– Subsystems manufactured and delivered
(Avionics fully tested)
– Subsystems , PLs and flight harness integrated
(Anti vibration mounts developed and tested)
– Descent and landing system under manufac.
(Engineering Model deployments tests performed)
Vehicle development status

20. EXPERT status| 11/05/2011
Vehicle integration

21. EXPERT status| 11/05/2011
Metallic TPS integration

22. EXPERT status| 11/05/2011
Metallic TPS integration

23. EXPERT status| 11/05/2011
Design temperature
in the area is 14800
С.
The fabric did not loose
its strength
Rear Thermal Insulation
Engineering tests

24. EXPERT status| 11/05/2011
– Supersonic Parachute (SP), 2 stages
– Supersonic drogue deploy: M=1.8, 16 Km,
523m/s
– Main Parachute deploy: M=0.3, 4Km,
max. 80 m/s
– Landing speed below 10m/s
Parachute system with 2 stages
Supersonic drogue deploy: M=1.8, 16 Km, 523 m/s
Main Parachute deploy: M=0.3, 4/3 Km, max. 80 m/s
Landing speed requirement lower than 10m/s
Descent and landing system
16km 3km

25. EXPERT status| 11/05/2011
DLS Parachute deployment

26. EXPERT status| 11/05/2011
DLS inflation test on the drogue

27. EXPERT status| 11/05/2011
Main Parachute
Drop Test Description
– Helicopter
– MI-8 Helicopter
– Flight Velocity at 25 to 50 m/s
– Payload deployed around 1800 to 1200 m
– 440 kg mock-up
– Shape, Size, Material unknown
– Additional Drogue parachute required
– To obtain test conditions for EXPERT Main Parachute
– Drogue deployed after 2 to 5 s
– Main Parachute deployment
– 700 to 1000 m
– 60 to 70 m/s

28. EXPERT status| 11/05/2011
EXPERT Vehicle
Recovery scenario
EXPERT
Team
LEO/GEO
LUTMCCEXPERT
Team
406Mhz digital signal.
COSPAST-SARSAT Constellation
Global satellite coverage to locate
EXPERT vehicle.
121.5Mhz analog signal.
Regional coverage with no data
encoded and worst accuracy.
LEO/GEO satellites.
LEO satellites provide periodic
Coverage of the entire earth.
GEO satellites continuous coverage
bellow 70 degrees
Local
User Terminal
Mission
Control Centre

29. EXPERT status| 11/05/2011
Conclusions
Project Milestones
– Integration and functional verification to be concluded mid May
– System verification and environmental tests in May/ June
– Qualification Acceptance Review in July / August
– Vehicle and DLS delivery to Kamchatka
– Final integration and launch preparation
– Launch September 2011 (end of launch window)
– EXPERT is a key development for ATD activities and Re-Entry
technologies in Europe and attracted world wide attention
from the scientific community.
– Shall provide a much-needed boost to European scientics and
industrial competence in ATD and Re-entry / transportation
activities.

30. EXPERT status| 11/05/2011
EXPERT Consortium
ESA project : Re-entry test bed for in-flight experimentation
Thales Alenia Space Italia as Prime Contractor
 Sub-contractors from 6 European countries (I, A, B, CH, D, NL )
Set of 14 scientific payloads from European Institutes (I, D, B, CH, S, Nl, F)
 Coordination of experiments performed by CIRA
Makeyev SRC provides; Launcher, DLS and ground recovery operations