The Apollo Program's Project FIRE (Flight Investigation Reentry Environment) studied the effects of reentry heating on spacecraft materials. It involved both wind tunnel and flight tests, although the majority were tests with Atlas rockets and recoverable reentry packages. These flight tests took place at Cape Canaveral in Florida.
The Apollo Program’s Project FIRE (Flight Investigation Reentry Environment) studied the effects of reentry heating on spacecraft materials. It involved both wind tunnel and flight tests, although the majority were tests with Atlas rockets and recoverable reentry packages. These flight tests took place at Cape Canaveral in Florida. Wind tunnel tests, however, were made in several Langley tunnels including the Unitary Plan Wind Tunnel, the 8-foot High-Temperature Tunnel and the 9×6-Foot Thermal Structures Tunnel.Image Credit: NASA