Force measurements in hypersonic impulse facilities

A six-component strain gauge balance is used to measure aerodynamic loads of different models in hypersonic wind tunnels with running times down to 1 ms. Three models are employed, a pointed cone, an Apollo Chi capsule, and a delta wing configuration, ELAC I. All models are tested in the Aachen shock tunnel TH2; the capsule model was additionally tested in the von Karman institute Longshot facility. Two different methods are applied to compensate for low-frequency inertia forces caused by the model support system for the capsule tests. The measured aerodynamic coefficients are compared with experimental and numerical values of other authors.