Hypersonics research at the George H.W. Bush Combat Development Complex is centered on enabling rapid, physics-based development and testing of high-speed flight systems. Our work focuses on understanding flight dynamics, aerothermodynamics, and vehicle survivability in extreme conditions, including high enthalpy, turbulence, and realistic weather encounters. Experiments and simulations are integrated to provide high-fidelity data that validates models and informs the design of next-generation hypersonic vehicles.
The Ballistic, Aero-Optics, & Materials (BAM) Range, along with multiple hypersonic wind tunnels in association with the National Aerothermochemistry & Hypersonic Flight Laboratory (NAHL), provide unique opportunities to study flight physics at large-scale and in controlled environments. These capabilities allow researchers to replicate realistic atmospheric conditions and extreme aerodynamic stresses, accelerating development and improving confidence in precision, survivability, and performance.
Objective
To advance hypersonics research through:
- Ground and flight testing in replicated extreme environments
- Physics-based simulations that inform vehicle design and survivability
- Integrated data collection to validate and refine computational models
Capabilities
Rail-guided Flight Testing
- Fully enclosed, 250m rail-guided flight range with flight-matched enthalpies and quiescence
- Projectiles up to 4 inches in diameter launched at Mach 10
- Environmental encounters including rain, snow, dust, and fog
- Pressure altitudes up to 30 km
- Soft-catch recovery tube for post-test analysis
- Ablation and wake signature quantification
Wind Tunnels
- Mach 6 Quiet Tunnel (M6QT)
Delivers over 40 seconds of flight-quality freestream pressure fluctuations—the longest-duration quiet flow facility in academia - Hypervelocity Expansion Tunnel (HXT)
Produces flight-matched enthalpies up to Mach 15 with aerothermally clean air - Actively Controlled Expansion (ACE) Tunnel
Enables independent control over both Mach (5-8) and Reynolds number sweeps mid-run—the only variable-Mach facility of its kind in academia
Computational Tools
High-fidelity simulations of hypersonic aerothermochemistry, turbulence, and thermal loads
Data Integration & Analysis
- Multi-sensor telemetry from onboard projectile data recorders for flight dynamics, thermal loading, and boundary layer transition assessments
- Rapid turnaround of datasets for design iteration and optimization
