Innovative Thermal Protection Systems (TPSs) for Trajectory Shaping Vehicles (TSVs)

Advanced reentry vehicles desire extended time durations in oxidizing environments, at temperatures in the range of 3000°K. State of the art nosetip materials utilize a high density carbon/carbon (C/C) composite that has a carbide center core. Intermat has produced nosetip billets with a variety of ‘carbide core’ configurations. A variation of this technology is to insert core regions of solid high temperature metals or carbides to create a center core region that reacts differently from the parent C/C material in a manner that facilitates management of the ablation rate experienced by the nosetip. In placing a core of material into the nosetip that will ablate slower than the C/C under glide reentry conditions, Intermat and its team have demonstrated that a lower than typical ablation rate on the nosetip specimen can be achieved. The Phase 2 program would expand upon the material screening performed under the Phase 1 effort and then permit the evaluation of a second generation of specimens (material configurations) that would apply lessons learned to managing the flight conditions over initial dive, glide and terminal dive with the goal of providing both extended flight capability through lower ablation rates.