PERFORMANCES OF A SMALL HYPERSONIC AIRPLANE (HYPLANE)

In the present work a preliminary performance study regarding a small hypersonic airplane named HyPlane is presented. It is designed for long duration sub-orbital space tourism missions, in the frame of the Space Renaissance (SR) Italia Space Tourism Program. The vehicle is also consistent with a point-to-point medium range hypersonic trip, within the “urgent business travel” market segment. The design of such a hypersonic airplane is based on the concept of integrating available technologies developed for aeronautical and space atmospheric re-entry systems. The vehicle, characterized by high aerodynamic efficiency and low wing loading, is able to provide aerodynamic stability and manoeuvrability along the flight path and to produce a reduced sonic boom during cruise and supersonic descent approach, ensuring a very limited environmental impact. HyPlane, powered by Turbine Based Combined Cycle (TBCC) engines plus a throtteable Rocket, is able to perform Horizontal Takeoff and Horizontal Landing (HTHL) on runways. Aerodynamic and propulsive performances for the different flight regimes encountered during the missions are studied. Aerodynamic heating effects are analyzed, in order to identify suitable structures and materials design to sustain the hypersonic flight conditions. Different flight paths are also investigated, including hypersonic cruise and sub-orbital parabolic trajectories, which provide Space tourists with the opportunity of long duration missions, offering short and repeated periods of low-gravity, in the high stratosphere where a large view of the Earth is ensured