The knowledge of the aerothermodynamic environment of space vehicles crossing the upper layers of planetary atmospheres at hypersonic velocities represents a critical issue for dimensioning purposes. In such high-enthalpy flows, dissociation and ionization effects lead to strong departures from chemical and ther-modynamic equilibrium. The formation of a highly emissive plasma also implies taking into account radiation emission and absorption effects in the flow, using quantum mechanics calculations. Different complementary ground test facilities allow the simulation of such entry conditions. At the Laboratoire d'Aerothermique, investigations on Earth, Mars and Titan like plasmas have been conducted over the last years in the SR5 rarefied arc-jet plasma wind-tunnel. Experimental investigations include optical emission spec-troscopy (OES) and other measurement techniques. Numerical investigations include the development and validation of the line-by-line radiative code SESAM as well as the modelling of the SR5 plasma flow in a fluid mechanics approach using the Navier-Stokes ARES code and several other internal codes. The complementary numerical and experimental investigations conducted at the Laboratoire d'Aerothermique allow an improved qualitative and quantitative knowledge on planetary entry flows which will lead to improved design properties and performance of future space vehicles.
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