This study introduces various gradient search methods as well as hybrid genetic techniques that achieve impressive convergence rates on constrained problems. These methods are applied to threedimensional shape optimization of ogive-shaped, starshaped, and spiked projectiles and lifting bodies in a hypersonic flow. Flow field analyses are performed using Newtonian flow theory and, in certain cases verified using a parabolized Navier-Stokes (PNS) flow analysis algorithm. Three-dimensional geometrical rendering is achieved using a variety of techniques including beta-splines from the computer graphics industry.
