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Hypersonic Re-Entry Deployable Glider Experiment (HEDGE): A CubeSAT Approach to Low-Cost Hypersonic Research; The Ethics and Technical Aspects of Hypersonic Vehicles

Year: 2025
Type: dissertation
Abstract: My 4th -year capstone experience was focused on the following goal: to prove that undergraduate aerospace engineering students can gather valuable hypersonic data from a flight test conducted at NASA Wallops Flight Facility. The technical portion consisted of HEDGE, or Hypersonic re-Entry Deployable Glider Experiment, being modeled inside of Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) software and MATLAB to find the center of pressure, drag coefficient as well as wall temperatures on the hypersonic vehicle. My STS research was aimed at describing the consequences of the use of hypersonic vehicles on society. Hypersonic vehicles have the capability to change the course of history, the physical appearance of an entire country as well as advance technology to new heights all at the same time. Given these factors, it was incredibly important to look at the technical aspects of hypersonic vehicles through HEDGE as well as their ethical implications to provide a wholistic description of their capabilities. My capstone research analyzed the technical aspects of hypersonic vehicles using my team’s HEDGE design. Specifically, I investigated the way in which the center of pressure changes as HEDGE approaches the surface of the Earth using CFD. Additionally, I researched how the temperature of HEDGE’s exterior would change as it encounters the intense heat transfer effects experienced as it glides to the surface of the Earth using MATLAB. I also identified the key area of limitation when it comes to higher-level hypersonics research: computational power. Given the complex physics involved in hypersonic flow student CFD licenses, like the one used to gather data here, these do not allow for the use of enough cores and nodes which are necessary to accurately capture turbulent boundary layers for instance. Given this, I recommended that three-dimensional CFD models be conducted on more computationally capable software with higher limits on core and node usage than the student license utilized in this research. Additionally, as part of my STS research, the consequences of hypersonic research and the key players in the development of the technology were identified. The consequences could be disastrous: destruction of cities and possibility countries in a matter of minutes. It was noted that these weapons be utilized in a defensive fashion only to limit the chance of mass destruction occurring. Further, the key players in the hypersonic “arms race” are currently China, Russia and the United States of America. The use of these weapons could put less-wealthy countries at risk like Ukraine and South Korea who would have no chance in defending themselves. Given this, it is incredibly important that countries who possess these weapons use them with proper ethics in mind. III. Conclusion I knew coming into the capstone experience that I would learn much more about hypersonic flow physics and aerodynamics than I did before this academic year. However, I didn’t realize how much I would learn about the tools, like Ansys CFD as well as MATLAB, which will be extremely helpful as I transition to working in the industry this summer. Further, my capstone team supported me throughout the entire project in investigating complex hypersonic flow physics, which taught me exactly how much team support can mean to my individual success. I also learned that the structure of dividing a fifteen-person group into different sub-teams allows teams to delve deeply into the different technical aspects of the project which leads to greater team success when it comes time for integration. However, one of the disappointing lessons from my capstone research was that hypersonic research requires computing power that is not cheap to obtain which limits student groups like my team. Therefore, I’ve found that one of the biggest parts of this project was to find as much funding as possible to be able to support each technical endeavor to their highest degree possible. In my STS research, I found that the hypersonics “arms race”, which is currently intensifying, could have a disastrous impact on the world as we know it. Specifically, hypersonic weapons have the capability to change cities and even entire countries in a matter of minutes, which is an objectively frightening statement. I have also learned that there is an ethical responsibility on the wealthier countries who possess hypersonic weapons like the U.S., Russia as well as China to refrain from using them offensively against countries like South Korea and Ukraine to name a few. There are potential issues with HEDGE when one considers the fact that the project directly supports the development of hypersonic missile technology. However, the responsibility falls on the aforementioned countries in control of the use of these weapons to use them on a defensive basis only.
Source: Libra
DOI: 10.18130/s5dy-zp39
Author: Michael Wennemer
Language: English
Open Access status: green
OpenAlex ID: W6906758806
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