| PROPOSAL NUMBER: | 05 X7.04-8914 |
| SUBTOPIC TITLE: | Aeroassist Systems |
| PROPOSAL TITLE: | Innovative Reduced Mass TPS Designs for Human-Rated Aeroassit Vehicles |
SMALL BUSINESS CONCERN
(Firm Name, Mail Address, City/State/Zip, Phone)
Materials Research and Design
300 E. Swedesford Road
Wayne ,PA 19087 - 1858
(610) 964 - 9000
PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR/PROJECT MANAGER
(Name, E-mail, Mail Address, City/State/Zip, Phone)
Hans Jensen
hans.jensen@m-r-d.com
300 E. Swedesford Rd.
Wayne, PA 19087 -1858
(610) 964 - 9000
TECHNICAL ABSTRACT (LIMIT 200 WORDS)
This proposal addresses Item #2 of Topic X7.04 Aeroassist Systems and proposes innovative heat shield thermal protection systems (TPS) designs for human-rated aeroassist vehicles returning to Earth from the Moon and Mars. The proposed designs 1) utilize concepts with and without outer ablator materials, 2) employ outer refractory composite material rib-stiffened aeroshells with low emissivity foils on their internal structure to trap the heat and act like a high thermal resistance material, similar to multi-layer insulation but which have the potential to be less complex and less dense, and 3) make use of re-usable refractory composite materials that will be non-parasitic and structurally functional within the heat shield, thereby offering the promise of significantly reducing TPS mass fraction. The following will briefly describe the base heat shield used in Apollo Command Module and discuss the two alternative concepts and why they are advantageous.
POTENTIAL NASA COMMERCIAL APPLICATIONS (LIMIT 150 WORDS)
Design of any heat shield will benefit from the successful completion of the proposed program. However, of immediate and direct relevance are the TPS elements, especially the base heat shield of the Crew Exploration Vehicle. Designs evolving from this effort will be of use to both of the current CEV teams, specifically the Northrop Grumman/Boeing team and Lockheed Martin.
POTENTIAL NON-NASA COMMERCIAL APPLICATIONS (LIMIT 150 WORDS)
Non-NASA commercial applications for this heat shield technology would include TPS for military and civilian hypersonic vehicles.
| NASA's technology taxonomy has been developed by the SBIR-STTR program to disseminate awareness of proposed and awarded R/R&D in the agency. It is a listing of over 100 technologies, sorted into broad categories, of interest to NASA. |
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TECHNOLOGY TAXONOMY MAPPING
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Ablatives
Composites Launch and Flight Vehicle Reuseable Thermal Insulating Materials |