Results and lessons from the first wind tunnel campaign

During the two-weeks of the wind tunnel campaign, a large number of tests was carried out. They provide a unique set of results characterizing more than 15 configurations of the Huygens mock-up and its appendages.

The aerodynamics influence of the different appendages on the spin has been measured and is under analysis. The initial results demonstrate that each individual appendage contribute differently to the aerodynamic characteristics of the mock-up. On the mock-up, the main torque inducers are the 36 spinvanes, matching their initial purpose. In the different configurations, none of the appendages were able to reverse the torque from the spin vanes.

This campaign has built a large database on the aerodynamics of the probe and has raised many questions that will be investigated in the second part of this 2-years project.

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