Advanced Thermal Protection and Locking System for atmospheric Re-Entry applications.

Abstract

In the frame of the ASA ( Advanced Structural Assembly) project, promoted by the Italian Space Agency (ASI) with Thales Alenia Space Italia as prime contractor and Sapienza University of Rome, an innovative thermal protection system has been developed envisioning a prominent role to technologies and projects involving atmospheric re-entry capabilities and hypersonic vehicles. This is because the shuttle age is over and there is the need to invest and develop new re-usable structures which can withstand with the necessity to be lightweight, cheap and safe. The innovative thermal protection system with structural functions, developed and patented by Sapienza University of Rome, consists of a hybrid ceramic panel. The ASA innovative layout is designed to withstand structural and thermal loads, optimizing weights and thicknesses with respect to the state of the art. The key factor of this panel is its capacity of been a reusable structure which can perform a re-entry flight from space through the Earth’s atmosphere. The choice of the re-entry test conditions for the design and develop is due to the fact that this is the most severe of the overall hypersonic flight mission. Another key factor for the ASA Panel reusability is its oxidation resistance. The application of a good in quality coating has been tested and studied in order to guarantee the material chemical stability. The project requirements take into consideration the harsh condition of a re-entry mission. It is thought that this developed thermal protection system (TPS) has to be installed on the IXV vehicle. The development of this structure includes also the design and development, performed by Thales Alenia Space Italia, of clamping devices that can lock the panel to the IXV vehicle. The whole designed system, TPS and lock system, has been realized. In particular, a specific set of characterization and functional test has been performed in order to assess the technologies readiness level and qualify the component for a re-entry nominal mission. Here the whole system is presented showing its capacity to withstand with IXV requirements. The patented structure is a sandwich structure composed by four tiles. One of the innovations of this TPS is the opportunity to be installed / uninstalled externally without the necessity to have an access from the inner part of the vehicle. The use of advanced carbon/carbon materials let the structure to be not only lightweight but also to be reusable and to keep its mechanical properties during the overall mission.