Hypersonic Flows of Rarefied Gases: Discovering Unique Kinetic Phenomena in Low-density Media

This book covers the latest research efforts in modeling hypersonic flights of spacecraft in low-density atmospheric layers of Earth, Mars, Venus, and other planets and their moons. The systematic studies of hypersonic gas flows inside the underexpanded jets in vacuum chambers reveal various unique kinetic and quantum phenomena that could be used in planning the planetary missions and in technological industrial processes. The role of classical similitude parameters (Knudsen and Reynolds nu...