The prediction of the flight stability and of the aerodynamic coefficients in the transition region between the rarefied and the continuum flow regime is important for the design of hypersonic vehicles. The aim of this investigation is to analyse experimentally how aerodynamics - lift, drag and pitching moment - of re-entry and hypersonic transport vehicles is affected by rarefaction effects for classical blunt bodies and high lift / drag flight configurations with an angle of attack range between 0 and 34°. The analysis is conducted by experiments in the DLR Hypersonic Vacuum Wind Tunnel Göttingen (VxG), a continuously operating facility which can simulate hypersonic flows around vehicle configurations in this gas kinetic transition regime.Based on about 900 experimentally obtained data sets of lift, drag and pitching moment coefficients and lift/drag ratio, significant rarefaction effects could be observed in all considered aerodynamic coefficients within the analysed Knudsen number range between 7e-4 and 9e-3. The effects are strong enough to cause a reduction in lift / drag ratio of up to more than 50%.
