Improving thermal protection of spacecraft
Improving thermal protection of spacecraft
Keywords: NASA, Space travel, Insulation, Ceramics
The US National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) is conducting a flight experiment that may yield a major breakthrough in the design of future spacecraft. The flight experiment will test an ultra-high temperature ceramic material's ability to improve thermal protection of space vehicles through the extreme heat of re-entry into the Earth's atmosphere.
Ultra-high-temperature ceramic materials could make it possible for future space vehicles to have sharp leading edges, instead of the blunt body design common to today's spacecraft. Engineers routinely design spacecraft with blunt leading edges that create a region of compressed air in front of the vehicle as it travels faster than the speed of sound. This region absorbs much of the heat associated with a spacecraft's re-entry into Earth's atmosphere and keeps the vehicle's edges from overheating. Blunt body vehicles, however, are inefficient and have high drag, or friction, as they fly – resulting in large,expensive propulsion systems.
The ceramic material being tested by NASA also could substantially lower the cost of boosting objects to space. A modified Mk 12A re-entry vehicle –basically an aerodynamic nosecone – with four sharp leading edges will be lofted into space aboard a US Air Force Minuteman III launch vehicle and will make a high-speed re-entry into the atmosphere to test the material.
