The first “blow down” test of the trisonic wind tunnel, much awaited by the Indian scientific community, took place on 8 December 2022 at the Vikram Sarabhai Space Center in Thiruvananthapuram.
Trisonic wind tunnels can be used to test the aerodynamic design of rockets and re-entry spacecraft, and to evaluate the load distribution, pressure, acoustic levels, etc. experienced therein. The trisonic tunnel has an overall length of 160 m and a maximum cross diameter of 5.4 m.
The technique can be used for various experiments in three speed ranges during spacecraft launches – subsonic, supersonic and supersonic: hence the name trisonic wind tunnel. The tunnel is suitable for speeds ranging from 0.2 times the speed of sound (68 m/s) to 4 times the speed of sound (1360 m/s).
VSSC Director Dr. S. Unnikrishnan Nair, LPSC Director Dr. V Narayanan, Director, IISU.Dr. DOS was formally switched on by ISRO/Secretary Shri S Somnath in the presence of senior officials of ISRO including Sam Dayala Dev.
The trisonic wind tunnel is a major step towards India’s increasing self-reliance in the aerospace sector.
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