1:10 Subscale Galileo-like Entry Probe

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).