Until recently, high temperature designs in manned aircraft and aerospace vehicles fell exclusively within the province of either metallic or polymeric (ablative) materials. Aircraft engine technology has pushed metals to the upper limits of their capabilities. Rocket engine chambers and nozzles, such as those used on the Apollo, Saturn, and Shuttle, have used a variety of design concepts, including hot radiative metallic structures, regeneratively cooled metallic structures, and ablative nozzle liners. The X-15, designed as a hot metallic structure, also used some limited ablative protection in later configurations. The Mercury spacecraft used metallic shingles on its sides to reradiate heat; however, the primary heat shields on the Mercury, Gemini, and Apollo spacecraft were ablative systems. The thermal protection system (TPS) of the Space Shuttle orbiter differs remarkably from the heat shields of previous spacecraft in size, complexity, and design requirements. The design requirements, not the experience base, had the greates impact on the choice of a TPS material system.
The shuttle orbiter thermal protection system
Das Waermeschutzsystem des Raumgleiters (Shuttle Orbiter)
American Ceramic Society Bulletin ; 60 , 11 ; 1188-1193
1981
6 Seiten, 8 Bilder, 2 Tabellen
Aufsatz (Zeitschrift)
Englisch
HOCHTEMPERATURTECHNIK , HITZEBESTAENDIGKEIT , TEMPERATURVERTEILUNG , WAERMELEITFAEHIGKEIT , WAERMEFLUSS , WAERMESCHUTZ , RAUMFAHRZEUG , NASA (NATIONAL AERONAUTICS AND SPACE ADMINISTRATION) , MATERIALFORSCHUNG , OXIDKERAMIK , SINTERKERAMIK , THERMISCHE EIGENSCHAFT , VERBUNDWERKSTOFF , EPOXIDHARZ , GRAPHIT , SILICIUMDIOXID , ZUGFESTIGKEIT , SCHICHTSTOFF , HITZESCHILD , KOHLENSTOFFASER , RAUMFAEHRE