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Heatshield

All articles tagged with #heatshield

space2 days ago•5 min saved

Artemis II Faces Fiery Re-entry: How Heat Shields Save the Crew

Artemis II’s return from its lunar mission will be a high-speed, multi-minute re-entry at over 11 km/s, with air temperatures near 10,000°C. The Orion capsule relies on an AVCOAT ablative heat shield and lift-assisted entry to keep g-forces manageable and maintain a safe descent, while a radio blackout occurs during peak heating. NASA tweaked the trajectory to avoid the “skip” risk seen in Artemis I, and the crew will splash down in the Pacific after a record 406,771 km from Earth.

via The Conversation|

#artemis #heatshield #nasa

science-and-technology1 year ago•4 min saved

NASA Delays Artemis Moon Missions Amid Heatshield Concerns

NASA has concluded that the cracks found in the Orion module's heatshield from the Artemis Mission were due to trapped gases caused by the skip guidance re-entry technique. By altering the re-entry method, the spacecraft will be safe for crewed flights without redesigning the heatshield. Consequently, the Artemis II and III missions have been delayed to April 2026 and mid-2027, respectively, to address other system improvements. The heatshield's thermal performance exceeded expectations, ensuring crew safety during re-entry.

via The Register|

#artemis-mission #heatshield #nasa

space-technology2 years ago•3 min saved

Welsh space company creates innovative shuttlecock heatshield.

Welsh space start-up, Space Forge, has developed a reusable heatshield called Pridwen that can protect spacecraft when they return to Earth. The large flexible sheet can be folded tightly for launch and then spring out like a shuttlecock to radiate away heat energy in excess of a thousand degrees. Pridwen is central to Space Forge's business model of flying a fleet of "mini factories" in orbit to manufacture high-value materials and components. The company is already thinking about expanding Pridwen technology to return material from the Moon and asteroids and even landing on Solar System bodies with an atmosphere.

via BBC|

#heatshield #mini-factories #pridwen