Aft Looking Spectrometer for Plume Characterization and Waking on Re-entry

nou Systems, Inc. (nSI) proposes the analysis and design of aft facing spectrometer concepts that will be incorporated on future flight tests to observe the chemical species in the plume and wake region of the flow field. The overreaching objective of this proposal is to collect data to improve the current wake/plume models and expand our knowledge of the wake/plume species and the underlying chemistry of the wake/plume phenomena. Current attempts to measure observables and chemical species in the plume of a boosting target and the wake of a re-entry vehicle (RV) are not sufficient to support Model and Simulation (M&S) development. The proposed solution focuses on implementation of currently available technology in unique methods that will allow observation of the desired flow field. A significant portion of the Phase I effort will be focused on understanding of the flow characteristics in the wake based on advanced CFD and then designing a system that best captures chemical species for that flow regime. Approved for Public Release | 16-MDA-8917 (15 November 16)