Photo: Sierra Space
We often tend to look at spacecraft and imagine that if anything is to go wrong with a mission, it will be so during launch. But the reality is that re-entry is far more dangerous, as it exposes the ship to very high speeds and intense temperatures – in some cases, that's Mach 17 (13,000 mph/21,000 kph) and 3,100 degrees Fahrenheit (1,704 degrees Celsius).
Over the years the space exploration industry has developed a series of technologies meant to protect spacecraft from harm during re-entry. These technologies mostly come as protective tiles or layers applied on the exterior of the ship, shielding them from destruction.
Although highly effective in getting the job done, existing protective measures have been designed to serve the needs of a limited number of re-entries. The Space Shuttle's shields, for instance, on which many of the others are based, were only capable of supporting up to five re-entries.
Today's spacecraft are being built with a higher use rate, and that poses new challenges for space companies in terms of protective tiles. At least some of these challenges seem to have been overcome with a new solution that was announced at the end of last week by Sierra Space.
The maker of the Dream Chaser spaceplane says it has come up with a "groundbreaking new technology" in this field, with help from the U.S. Department of Energy's Oak Ridge National Laboratory.
The new Thermal Protection System (TPS), as it's unimaginatively called, is made of an undisclosed composite material. We're told the stuff is as strong as carbon fiber, but at the same time comes with the same high-temperature stability of ceramic materials. On top of that, the TPS does not interfere with the ship's flight dynamics.
The new material should be more than enough to ensure a ship can come back to Earth repeatedly and in a very frequent fashion.
Sierra Space and its partner laboratory say they have already completed the first development stage for the solution, and a patent application has been filed for it. But work is far from over, as now engineers will have to conduct more testing, including in NASA's Arc Jet facility. Ways to manufacture it in an economical manner will also be researched.
The company plans to use the new TPS on the Dream Chaser spaceplane at an undisclosed time, and it will surely include it on the second spacecraft of the family, the one referred to as the Reverence.
Initially planned for earlier this year, the first launch of the Dream Chaser has been pushed to the spring of 2025. Once it gets going, the ship will have to fly at least 15 missions on behalf of NASA, carrying supplies to the International Space Station (ISS).
Although highly effective in getting the job done, existing protective measures have been designed to serve the needs of a limited number of re-entries. The Space Shuttle's shields, for instance, on which many of the others are based, were only capable of supporting up to five re-entries.
Today's spacecraft are being built with a higher use rate, and that poses new challenges for space companies in terms of protective tiles. At least some of these challenges seem to have been overcome with a new solution that was announced at the end of last week by Sierra Space.
The maker of the Dream Chaser spaceplane says it has come up with a "groundbreaking new technology" in this field, with help from the U.S. Department of Energy's Oak Ridge National Laboratory.
The new Thermal Protection System (TPS), as it's unimaginatively called, is made of an undisclosed composite material. We're told the stuff is as strong as carbon fiber, but at the same time comes with the same high-temperature stability of ceramic materials. On top of that, the TPS does not interfere with the ship's flight dynamics.
The new material should be more than enough to ensure a ship can come back to Earth repeatedly and in a very frequent fashion.
Sierra Space and its partner laboratory say they have already completed the first development stage for the solution, and a patent application has been filed for it. But work is far from over, as now engineers will have to conduct more testing, including in NASA's Arc Jet facility. Ways to manufacture it in an economical manner will also be researched.
The company plans to use the new TPS on the Dream Chaser spaceplane at an undisclosed time, and it will surely include it on the second spacecraft of the family, the one referred to as the Reverence.
Initially planned for earlier this year, the first launch of the Dream Chaser has been pushed to the spring of 2025. Once it gets going, the ship will have to fly at least 15 missions on behalf of NASA, carrying supplies to the International Space Station (ISS).
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