MODEL INVESTIGATION OF TECHNIQUE FOR CONDUCTING FULL-SCALE LANDING-IMPACT TESTS AT SIMULATED LUNAR GRAVITY

摘要

In order to determine the suitability of landing systems for lunar space craft, it is necessary to study the landing-gear structural loads, vehicle loads, motions, and stability at lunar gravity and at full size. There is need of a practical and economical technique for conducting full-scale earth tests which would augment small-scale model and analytical investigations. An investigation of a l/6-scale dynamic model has been made to develop and evaluate a technique for conducting full-scale landing-impact tests at simulated lunar gravity. Results of the simulator tests at lunar gravity show good correlation with results obtained during free-body earth-gravity landing tests using the l/6-scale dynamic model. Impact accelerations, time histories, and gear strokes obtained during hard-surface landings using both techniques are in good agreement. Behavior and overturn characteristics compare favorably. These tests indicate that the simulator technique could be used to conduct a full-scale two-dimensional investigation of a lunar spacecraft landing-gear arrangement over a range of spacecraft landing speeds, flight-path angles, pitch attitudes, and gear orientations during landings on selected surfaces. A motion-picture film supplement (L-856) is available to illustrate the results of these tests. A request card and a description of the film are provided at the end of this paper.