Simulating splashdown of a re-entry vehicle with operating propulsion system on rough water

Abstract

The re-entry vehicle included into the manned spacecraft Federatsiya that is being developed by RSC Energia, nominally lands on specially prepared solid ground landing sites using a parachute-jet system. In off-nominal situations the re-entry vehicle is capable of performing a splashdown. In that case, in order to properly take into account the loads and do strength analysis, one needs to know the levels of hydrodynamic loads on the spacecraft body and its dynamic behavior in water, factoring in all the possible weather conditions at the landing site and all possible operational modes of parachute-jet system in off-nominal situations. This paper presents the results of numerical simulation of a splashdown on rough water of the re-entry vehicle included in the crew transportation spacecraft Federatsiya. It discusses both the cases where the propulsion system is firing and where it is not. It provides data on changes in kinematic properties of the re-entry vehicle, in forces and torques it is subjected to, as well as g-loads it experiences. The obtained data are required for further loading and strength analyses of the spacecraft structure. Key words: numerical simulation, splashdown, re-entry vehicle, aerodynamic properties, rough seas