Experiment Could Lead To Spacecraft Design Breakthrough

Ultra-high temperature ceramic material could make it possible for space vehicles to have sharp leading edges, instead of the blunt body design common to today’s spacecraft. Engineers routinely design spacecraft with blunt leading edges that create a region of compressed air in front of the vehicle as it travels faster than the speed of sound. This region absorbs much of the heat associated with a spacecraft’s reentry into Earth’s atmosphere and keeps the vehicle’s edges from overheating. Blunt body vehicles, however, are inefficient and have high drag, or friction, as they fly – resulting in large, expensive propulsion systems. The ceramic material the Ames Center will test in flight could substantially lower the cost of boosting objects to space. A modified Mk12A reentry vehicle – basically an aerodynamic nose cone – with four sharp leading edges will be lofted into space aboard a U.S. Air Force Minuteman III launch vehicle and will make a high-speed reentry into the atmosphere to test the ceramic material. Following reentry, the vehicle will deploy a drag chute and be recovered from the waters of the Pacific Ocean. The launch is scheduled June 28 from Vandenberg Air Force Base, Calif.

Photos: http://www1.msfc.nasa.gov/NEWSROOM/news/photos/2000/photos00-047.htm

Note to Editors: The Advanced Space Transportation Media Update is a regular progress report to keep you informed about technology development activity at NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Ala. As NASA’s Lead Center for Space Transportation Systems Development, Marshall is pushing technologies that will dramatically increase the safety and reliability and reduce the cost of space transportation. Interviews and materials supporting this Media Update are available to media representatives by contacting June Malone of the Marshall Media Relations Department at (256) 544-0034. For an electronic version of this release, digital images or more information, visit Marshall’s News Center on the Web at:http://www.msfc.nasa.gov/newsFor more information on Marshall’s space transportation activities, visit:http://www.highway2space.com