SPACE TECHNOLOGY & DEVELOPMENT OF MECHANICS

The development of space technology in the world today may fall into three categories: the design, manufacture and applications of spacecraft, manned space flight and space exploration. In the course of advancing space technology, many new mechanical problems arise continuously from the three and then lead to the emergence of a lot of new disciplinary branches, such as orbiting mechanics, atmospheric flight mechanics, structural dynamics, micro-gravity science, hypersonic aerodynamics, aerothermodynamics, engine gas dynamics and rarefied gas dy-’ namics. The successful and workable methods in the rise of these branches grow into the mainstream of space technology. For meeting the preset targets such as the design requirements of space vehicles, their development must rely on the effective use of three experimental tools: ground-based tests, computational simulation and flight tests. A methodological integration of the three tools, with comprehensive analysis of the data acquired from them, should be int