Re-Entry Aerodynamics

Hankey addresses the kinetic theory of gases and the prediction of vehicle trajectories during re-entry, including a description of the Earth's atmosphere. He discusses the fundamentals of hypersonic aerodynamics as they are used in estimating the aerodynamic characteristics of re-entry configurations, re-entry heat transfer for both lifting (space shuttle) and ballistic (Apollo) configurations, thermal protection systems, and the application of high-temperature materials in design.