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Calcimator

Reentry Heating Calculator

Estimate stagnation-point heating rate, temperature, and total heat load during atmospheric reentry using the Sutton-Graves correlation.

Inputs

m/s
mi
ft
lb

Results

Stagnation Heating Rate

2,682,077.22 W/m²

Stagnation Temperature

2,731.29 K

Total Heat Load1,385.6 MJ/m²
Peak Deceleration1.54 g
How to Use This Calculator
  1. Enter entry velocity (km/s), altitude (km), and vehicle nose radius (m).
  2. Set vehicle mass (kg) and drag coefficient (Cd) for your vehicle geometry.
  3. Review stagnation heating rate (W/cm²), stagnation temperature (K), and total heat load (MJ/m²).
  4. Use peak deceleration (g) to verify structural and human factors limits are not exceeded.
  5. Select thermal protection system thickness based on the total heat load output.

How the result changes with Altitude

AltitudeStagnation Heating RateStagnation Temperature
1537,850,735.05 W/m²5,293.81 K
534,048,539.84 W/m²3,027.43 K
98286,876.77 W/m²1,561.97 K
13532,543.65 W/m²906.5 K

What each input means

Entry Velocity
Velocity of the vehicle at the specified altitude during reentry.
Altitude
Current altitude above sea level. Atmospheric density is modeled exponentially.
Nose Radius
Radius of curvature at the vehicle stagnation point. Larger radii reduce heating rate.
Vehicle Mass
Total mass of the reentry vehicle for deceleration estimates.
Drag Coefficient
Aerodynamic drag coefficient of the vehicle. Capsules typically range 1.0–1.5.

How this is calculated

Worked example, using the default values

  1. Identify Input Parameters
    4 parameters
    Entry Velocity = 7800, Altitude = 60, Nose Radius = 1, Vehicle Mass = 8000 = 5 input(s) provided
  2. Calculate Stagnation Heating Rate
    Stagnation Heating Rate
    2682077.22 = 2682077.22
  3. Calculate Stagnation Temperature
    Stagnation Temperature
    2731.29 = 2731.29
  4. Calculate Total Heat Load
    Total Heat Load
    1385.6 = 1385.6
  5. Calculate Peak Deceleration
    Peak Deceleration
    1.54 = 1.54

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