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Thermal Protection System

All articles tagged with #thermal protection system

business24 days ago•4 min saved

SpaceX Shares Slip to Fresh Low Amid Starship Heat Shield Uncertainty

SpaceX stock closed at $108.37, a record low about 20% below its $135 IPO price just six weeks after listing, as investors weigh the valuation against IPO lockups and a nascent concern over Starship’s heat-shield (TPS) technology. Some NASA scientists have questioned TPS viability for rapid reuse, suggesting data could point to tile inspections or replacements and potential delays to Starship’s high‑frequency launch plan. If heat‑shield issues persist, SpaceX may need more Starships and longer repair times, potentially slowing revenue growth despite a track record of rocket‑tech advances.

via Barron's|

#business #ipo #spacex

space28 days ago•14 min saved

Behind Parker’s Shield: How a Tiny Carbon Layer Keeps It Cool Near the Sun

Parker Solar Probe survives near the Sun not by withstanding a single furnace-like temperature, but through a precisely engineered heat-management system: an 11.5 cm carbon‑carbon shield with a white ceramic coating, a clever shadow geometry, restricted conduction, water‑cooled solar arrays, and radiators that keep most of the spacecraft at room temperature while the sunward face glows at roughly 1,400 C. Instruments sit in or around the shield’s shadow and are made from high‑temperature materials, with seven sun sensors ensuring the shadow stays aligned. The mission’s radiation comes from intense sunlight (about 500 times Earth’s flux) rather than a million‑degree plasma, so the shield reflects energy and slows conduction, while the rest of the solar‑wind science package samples the environment from the edge of the shield. The result is a spacecraft designed to stay cool enough to operate while approaching within ~6 million kilometers of the Sun.

via Space Daily|

#nasa #parker-solar-probe #radiative-heat-transfer

space1 month ago•13 min saved

Parker Solar Probe Surges Near the Sun Behind Ultra-Light Heat Shield

NASA’s Parker Solar Probe, launched in 2018, pushed closer to the Sun than any spacecraft by reaching about 3.8 million miles from the solar surface at ~430,000 mph during the December 2024 pass; its 4.5-inch-thick, 2.3-meter heat shield—a carbon-carbon sandwich with a carbon foam core weighing ~160 pounds and a white alumina coating—keeps the instruments at room temperature while the sun-facing side reaches up to 2,500°F, with actual temperatures staying well below worst-case estimates, providing thermal margin; the mission has transformed solar physics by directly measuring the corona and solar wind, and is planned to operate through 2026 as it conducts further perihelia.

via Space Daily|

#carbon-foam #nasa #parker-solar-probe

space2 months ago•13 min saved

Parker Solar Probe Sets Speed and Shield Milestone at Sun’s Edge

In December 2024, NASA’s Parker Solar Probe flew into the Sun’s outer atmosphere, the corona, at a record 430,000 mph, surviving thanks to a 4.5-inch carbon-carbon Thermal Protection System that kept its interior near room temperature and enabling data return on the Sun’s extreme environment while it continues its mission to study solar wind.

via 19FortyFive|

#nasa #parker-solar-probe #solar-wind

space2 years ago•5 min saved

"Sierra Space's Cutting-Edge Measures Safeguard Dream Chaser, America's Next Space Plane"

Sierra Space is developing Dream Chaser, a commercial spaceplane based on a NASA design, to bring back experiments and equipment from the International Space Station (ISS) through Earth's atmosphere for a runway landing. The vehicle is covered with over 2,000 individual tiles, larger and stronger than those used on the space shuttle, providing thermal protection and temperature regulation. Dream Chaser will fly under NASA's Commercial Resupply Services-2 contract, with plans for multiple cargo missions to the ISS. It features foldable wings and will launch atop United Launch Alliance's Vulcan rocket. The vehicle can carry up to 5 metric tons of pressurized cargo and has the ability to bring experiments and equipment back to Earth, landing on conventional runways.

via NASASpaceflight.com|

#commercial-spaceplane #dream-chaser #nasa