Hypersonic Aerothermodynamics

The lecture addresses the structure of the atmosphere as well as the altitude dependency of thermodynamic properties, such as pressure, density, and temperature. Spacecrafts will be classified and the different phases of flights during reentry will be discussed (capsule / shuttle). The flow during space flight and reentry are discussed. This is aided by dividing the flow into different regimes based on aerodynamic and gas dynamic arguments. Based on simple geometries, the pressure and wall shear tension distributions in the free molecular flow will be derived. The lecture concludes with describing the trajectory mechanics during reentry.