Abstract: An engineering numerical aerodynamic computation method applicable to launch vehicle with strap-on boosters has been developed using the perturbation theory for slender body and the boundary element method (BEM). In this paper, the aerodynamic forces of the launch vehicle with strap-on boosters can be calculated by means of the available data of the core and the aerodynamic increment due to adding the boosters. The aerodynamic forces acting on the core and the boosters can be calculated separately. The comparisons between the computations and experiments for the launch vehicle with strap-on boosters C of China and the launch vehicle with strap-on boosters N of Japan denote that the present method can satisfy the necessary accuracy and provide a rapid and economical method in the preliminary design phase.

Key words: launch vehicle, booster, aerodynamic forces, slender body theory, boundary tlement method