ASSET, or Aerothermodynamic Elastic Structural Systems Environmental Tests was an experimental US space project involving the testing of an uncrewed sub-scale reentry vehicle.
Development and testing
Begun in 1960, ASSET was originally designed to verify the superalloy heat shield of the X-20 Dyna-Soar prior to full-scale crewed flights. The vehicle's biconic shape and low delta wing were intended to represent Dyna-Soar's forward nose section, where the aerodynamic heating would be the most intense; in excess of an estimated 2200 °C (4000 °F) at the nose cap.
Following the X-20 Dyna-Soar programs' cancellation in December 1963, completed ASSET vehicles were used in reentry heating and structural investigations with hopes that data gathered would be useful for the development of future space vehicles, such as the Space Shuttle.
Based on the results of the ASSET program, McDonnell proposed Winged Gemini, a Gemini spacecraft version capable of landing on a runway.
Flights Built by McDonnell, each vehicle was launched on a suborbital trajectory from Cape Canaveral's Pad 17B at speeds of up to 6000 m/s before making a water landing in the South Atlantic near Ascension Island.
Originally, a Scout launch vehicle had been planned for the tests, but this was changed after a large surplus of Thor and Thor-Delta missiles (returned from deployment in the United Kingdom) became available.
Of the six vehicles built, only one was successfully recovered and is currently on display at the National Museum of the United States Air Force in Dayton, Ohio.
MissionVehicleLaunch vehicle Launch date Apogee Max. speed Result Disposition ASSET 1 ASSET-ASV 1 Thor-DSV2F (Thor 232) September 18, 1963 62 km 4,906 m/s Survived reentry; flotation equipment malfunctioned, preventing planned recovery. Sunk in Atlantic. ASSET 2 ASSET-ASV 2 Thor-DSV2G (Thor 240) March 24, 1964 55 km Launch vehicle upper stage malfunction; vehicle self-destruct mechanism activated post-separation. Mission failed. Destroyed. ASSET 3 ASSET-ASV 3 Thor-DSV2G (Thor 250) July 22, 1964 71 km 5,500 m/s Survived reentry; all mission goals met. Recovered 12 hours after launch. Preserved. ASSET 4 ASSET-AEV 1Thor-DSV2F (Thor 260) October 28, 1964 50 km 4,000 m/s Survived reentry; all mission goals met; recovery not planned. Sunk in Atlantic. ASSET 5 ASSET-AEV 2Thor-DSV2F (Thor 247) December 9, 1964 53 km 4,000 m/s Survived reentry; all mission goals met; recovery not planned. Sunk in Atlantic. ASSET 6 ASSET-ASV 4Thor-DSV2G (Thor 248)February 23, 1965 70 km 6,000 m/s Survived reentry; flotation equipment malfunctioned, preventing planned recovery. Sunk in Atlantic.
Specifications Manoeuvring controls: Hydrogen-peroxide reaction control thrusters Maximum Mach no.: M25 Downrange: Apogee: Hypersonic L/D ratio: 1:1
See also
Molniya BOR-4 Martin X-23 PRIME
References