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NASA Advanced Supercomputing (NAS) Division World-class modeling, simulation, and supercomputing in support of the NASA mission

Launch Vehicle Analysis

The NASA Advanced Supercomputing (NAS) Division, one of the agency’s premier aerospace numerical modeling and simulation resources, has supported NASA space exploration missions for more than three decades. Our computational fluid dynamics (CFD) experts in the Computational Aerosciences Branch perform critical modeling and simulation to support development of NASA’s Space Launch System, Orion Spacecraft, and launch environments for the Artemis Program and commercial space exploration missions beyond low-Earth orbit.

Launch Environments

Image of launch ignition for the Space Launch System
Snapshot from a simulation of launch ignition for NASA’s next-generation Space Launch System (SLS). Surfaces are colored by pressure (red is high; blue is low) while particles are colored by temperature (orange is hot; black is cooler). Michael F. Barad, Timothy Sandstrom, NASA/Ames

To prepare for launching modern rockets from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center (KSC), including the Space Launch System and a range of commercial vehicles such as the SpaceX Falcon Heavy, engineers completely redesigned the main flame deflector (MFD) and mobile launcher (ML) at KSC’s Launch Pad 39B to bring it up to date from the space shuttle era. Early in the process, NAS CFD experts supported the redesign by applying their high-resolution Launch Ascent and Vehicle Analysis (LAVA) software to help analyze temperature, pressure, and flow on and around the complex geometry of the launch structure. Our team has developed new multiphase simulation capabilities that will provide a more complete picture of the extreme conditions the launch system experiences.

Space Launch System

Simulation of the Artemis II vehicle
Isometric view of the Artemis II vehicle, simulating the effect of a failure in a core stage engine with the boosters four feet downstream from their original, attached position. Slices of the flow are taken on vehicle centerline and through the left booster’s separation motors. The vehicle surface is colored by pressure contours, where blue is low and red is high. The green and orange colors represent low and high Mach numbers, respectively. Stuart Rogers, Henry Lee, NASA/Ames

From the beginning of NASA’s Space Launch System (SLS) Program, NAS CFD experts have supported both the development of SLS and related wind tunnel tests by running simulations using the FUN3D, OVERFLOW, LAVA, Cart3D, and PEGASUS software to quantify the aerodynamic forces for multiple launch scenarios, from ascent through booster separation. The NAS team has created many different aerodynamic databases that provide crucial data for design engineers, including booster separation databases for Artemis II—the first crewed flight of the Artemis Program—which will send humans to near-lunar space for the first time since the end of the Apollo Program. These databases are used by the Guidance, Navigation, and Control (GNC) group at NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center to model booster separation, helping to ensure a successful Artemis II launch.

Orion Launch Abort System

Image from Orion Pad Abort 1 flight test simulation
Snapshot of the Orion Pad Abort 1 flight test simulation showing detailed turbulent exhaust plume physics. Density (red is low, blue is high) is shown on the vehicle surface and a plane cutting through two abort motor nozzles. The hot, high-velocity exhaust gas has a lower density than air when it exits the nozzle. Its difference in speed with respect to the slower moving air around the vehicle creates turbulent eddies that result in pressure fluctuations on the vehicle surface. Michael Barad, Tim Sandstrom, NASA/Ames

In the event of a problem during an Artemis mission launch, Orion’s Launch Abort System (LAS) is designed to carry the Orion Spacecraft and its crew to safety by propelling them away from the rocket—a maneuver that involves rapid acceleration and intense pressure waves, causing vibrations that must be analyzed well ahead of the mission to ensure the system doesn’t shake itself apart. To help summarize the characteristics of these vibrations, NAS CFD experts run extensive simulations using their cutting-edge LAVA software for various launch abort scenarios, in close collaboration with the Orion Loads and Dynamics team at Johnson Space Center. Our team’s flight test simulations accurately predicted the acoustic vibrations on the surface of the LAS when compared to the flight test data, opening the door to more analysis that can help reduce uncertainty for abort scenarios that are not possible or too expensive to test—further helping to reduce risk and ensure astronaut safety.