• von Karman Institute for Fluid Dynamics

    Online Info Session dedicated to US Students
    9 April 2024 - 6PM (Brussels CEST)
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  • von Karman Institute for Fluid Dynamics

    Education in Research through Research


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  • von Karman Institute for Fluid Dynamics

    Education in Research through Research


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  • von Karman Institute for Fluid Dynamics

    Education in Research through Research


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  • von Karman Institute for Fluid Dynamics

    Education in Research through Research


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  • von Karman Institute for Fluid Dynamics

    Education in Research through Research


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Lecture Series STO 234 on Hypersonic Flight testing

LS STO 234 on hypersonic Flow TestingThe Lecture Series AVT-234 on “Hypersonic Flight Testing” was held in Rhode-St-Genèse, near Brussels, Belgium from March 24th to 27, 2014. This  special course aims at reviewing the recent hypersonic flight research programs, address the fundamental differences between ground and in-sky testing, report on  the different mission design methodologies and the constraints associated with the realities of hypersonic flights.



Hypersonic flight experiments benefit from the recent technology developments in materials, computational power, miniaturisation, etc. that have significantly reduced the level of cost and resources required for such testing. They appear  more and more attractive as a research activity, in association with wind tunnel and CFD activities.

This recent trend can be illustrated by the increased number of hypersonic research programs: X-51, HIFiRE, SHEFFEX, SCRAMSPACE, EXPERT, IXV, LEA, USV, etc. Translating a laboratory experiment into the sky imposes severe design constraints on the payload, typically affecting its environmental conditions (pressure, temperature, acceleration, etc.), packaging and resources (mass, energy & data).

Famous lecturers were invited from Belgium, Germany, France, The Netherlands and USA. Among them Charles J. Camarda, NASA Astronaut, served as a back-up crew member for Expedition 8 of the International Space Station. His first space flight was STS-114, NASA's "return to flight" mission following the loss of Space Shuttle Columbia.

The lectures Series team was led by Prof. Olivier Chazot from the von Karman Institute and by Dr. Sandy Tirtey from University of Queensland. The event was attended by 28 participants from Belgium, France, Germany, Hungary, Italy, Lithuania, Portugal, Spain, Turkey and United Kingdom.

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