Leonard David is an award-winning space journalist who has been reporting on space activities for more than 50 years. Currently writing as Space.
During its high-speed return to Earth from lunar distance, the thermal protection system of Orion's crew module must endure blistering temperatures to keep crew members safe. Measuring 16.5 feet in diameter, Orion's heat shield is the largest of its kind developed for missions carrying astronauts.
This process allows Avcoat to be applied in just a quarter of the previous time and saves money as well, according to the company.Post-flight inspection of the Artemis 1 Orion heat shield showed an unanticipated loss of char layer pieces from the spacecraft. NASA has been laser-focused, quite literally, on understanding the root cause of the char loss phenomena, as well as Avcoat cracking.
The Arc Jet Complex at NASA's Ames Research Center in Silicon Valley has been used to study unexpected heat shield issues found after the Orion capsule's Artemis 1 flight in late 2022.Those Orion heat shield tests involved the Laser Hardened Materials Evaluation Laboratory, a unique facility operated by UES, a BlueHalo company in Dayton, Ohio, and managed by the Air Force Research Laboratory. This lab does thermal simulation testing, equipped with high-power lasers.
These tests have produced a wealth of information for the investigation team, Brown said.
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