Nosetip recovery vehicle postflight development report
The nosetip recovery vehicle (NRV) was successfully flown on September 18, 1975. It was launched from Wallops Island, Virginia, on a STRYPI VII booster, which placed it at reentry conditions of V/sub E/ = 18,700 ft/s and ..gamma../sub E/ = -25/sup 0/ at an altitude of 300,000 ft. Normal ballistic flight was continued until shortly after peak heating rate and peak deceleration had been experienced. The recovery process was then initiated at an altitude of approximately 28,200 ft. The recovery portion of the vehicle was ''soft-landed'' as planned and removed from the water about 2 1/2 h later by the Coast Guard Cutter Cherokee. This event marked the first time that a high-performance reentry vehicle had been soft-landed and recovered. The vehicle weighed 102 lb and had a ballistic coefficient of 2000 psf. The recovered portion, which weighed 40 lb, included the nosetip, most of the heat shield, and a portion of the telemetry/instrumentation. The vehicle was designed to fly trajectories typical of an intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM). Fuzing functions for the recovery system were supplied by a dual-channel inertial fuze. The deceleration necessary to effect a soft landing was obtained by jettisoning about 60 percent of the vehicle mass, then deploying a two-stage parachute. A ram-air flotation bag and homing beacon on top of the main chute provided the additional capability for recovery from ocean areas. (auth)
- Research Organization:
- Sandia Labs., Albuquerque, N.Mex. (USA)
- DOE Contract Number:
- AT(29-1)-789
- OSTI ID:
- 7366970
- Report Number(s):
- SAND-75-8059
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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