The European Space Agency (ESA) is Europe’s gateway to space. Its mission is to shape the development of Europe’s space capability and ensure that investment in space continues to deliver benefits to the citizens of Europe and the world.
Find out more about space activities in our 23 Member States, and understand how ESA works together with their national agencies, institutions and organisations.
Exploring our Solar System and unlocking the secrets of the Universe
Go to topicProtecting life and infrastructure on Earth and in orbit
Go to topicUsing space to benefit citizens and meet future challenges on Earth
Go to topicMaking space accessible and developing the technologies for the future
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The newly developed expansion nozzle in the Oxford T6 Stalker Tunnel was used to measure the convective heat flux on a scaled 1:10 model of a 45 degree sphere cone probe like the Jupiter Galileo probe.
The Oxford T6 Stalker Tunnel, located at Oxford University, simulated the high speed aerothermodynamic gas radiative dynamics, and investigated the convective heat fluxes in a representative H2/He/CH4 environment. It is Europe’s fastest wind tunnel facility, providing a hypersonic, multi-mode and aerothermodynamic testing facility, based on the design by the late Professor Ray Stalker
The image shows the model surface before any testing shots (left) and after eight shots were fired (right).