| This paper documents the design and Computational Fluid Dynamic models used to design the flight data acquisition system of the Prospector 10 (P-10) launch vehicle. The P-10 flight will be the first known flight test of a multi-chamber aerospike rocket engine. The primary objective of this flight is to generate experimental data for the operation of an aerospike engine below its design point under representative flight conditions.;Commercial off the shelf hardware is used to construct the flight data acquisition and telemetry systems. The system is based on a National Instruments CompactRlO Controller to which an inertial measurement unit and a suite of pressure sensors are connected. Telemetry is achieved using a 900 MHz transmitter.;In parallel, Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) is used to determine the expected pressure, temperature, and flow environment around the vehicle in order to determine the number, location, operating ranges, and type of pressure sensors needed on the vehicle including the engine. Results show that 0-15 psia pressure sensors would be needed near the vehicle base both upstream and downstream of the expansion corner. Analyses suggest using at least 2 sets of sensors on the plug, one downstream of a fin and one away from a fin, with a third set to capture effects of angle of attack. These sensors need to be in the 0-30 psia range due to recompression zones on the plug. The paper finishes with a list of additional analyses to perform in order to complete the design of the flight package. |
