1. By the late 19601s,many of the light gas gun facilitiesin the United Statesinvolved in reentry observables studies had ceased operation. The principal remaining facilities were the Delco Systems Operation in Santa Barbara, CA and the Arnold Engineering and Development Center (AEDC) in Tullahoma, TN. The Delco facilities continued strongly in reentry signature activities until closure of the Aerophysics programs at the end of June 1988. The ballistic range at AEDC, on the otherhand, concentrated primarily on aerothermal ablation studies of reentryvehicle nose-tip material, but reactivated reentry observables efforts following closure of the Delco range. The assets of the Delco range were donated by General Motors Corporation to the University of Alabama in Huntsville (UAH). These assets are housed in a new Aerophysics Research Center building constructed by UAH on leased property in Redstone Arsenal, Huntsville, AL. and the facilitiesarenow fully operational.
2. From the very early days, the ballistic missile defense community had recognized the benefits of target detection, discrimination and designation ( D )in the early phases of the Copyright O 1992 American Institute of Aeronautics and
3. Preservation of Reynolds number ensures similitude in the fluid flow properties around the body and in the wake behind the body. At hgh Mach numbers ( > > lo), velocity becomes a driver in reentry observables and Mach number as well as Reynolds number LAUNCH TUBE DIA. (mm) 40-100 20, 28, 37 20-30 Launcher SystemOperation
4. Focused Beam , 9 & 35 GHz Forward Scattering System