Title: Development and Fabrication of Heatshields for NASA Planetary Exploration

Authors: Dr. Steven M. Violette and Patrick Sullivan

DOI: 10.33599/nasampe/c.24.0242

Abstract: "Spirit AeroSystems has been developing and fabricating light-weight thermal protection systems (TPS) for NASA missions since the mid-1990’s. Starting with the Stardust mission heatshield, Spirit has produced three generations of PICA (Phenolic Infused Carbon Ablator) materials to support these missions. Since 2016, Spirit’s team has developed a 3rd generation PICA, or PICA-D, which will support the Dragonfly mission to Titan and the Mars Sample Return - Sample Return Lander (MSR-SRL) mission to Mars to retrieve the samples collected by the Perseverance rover. Following technical qualification of PICA-D in collaboration with NASA Ames Research Center in 2022, the fabrication of the Dragonfly TPS materials was completed in early 2023. Since 2014, Spirit has been developing a novel material, 3D Medium Density Carbon Phenolic (3MDCP), a woven composite manufactured at Spirit’s Maine and Rhode Island sites. This thermal protection material is capable to withstand planetary re-entry conditions with heat fluxes to 10,000 W/cm2. Currently, Spirit is fabricating single piece 3MDCP heatshields to supply the Mars Sample Return - Earth Entry Vehicle (MSR-EEV) forebody thermal protection system. The flight heatshield will enable planetary re-entry for the sample return capsule carrying the first samples ever returned from Mars to Earth. Manufacturing scale-up and manufacturing readiness reviews for the 3MDCP flight hardware heatshields were completed in March 2023, enabling the full-scale heat shield to be completed in April 2023. Heat shield fabrication results are presented, which include processing pathway and process conformance, lot acceptance testing, NDE via x-ray and computerized tomography scanning, and successful full scale heat shield laser scan metrology inspection reports. This paper presents the development of 3rd generation PICA and 3MDCP material systems, their manufacturing readiness level (MRL) maturity programs, and the fabrication results supporting the NASA planetary missions to date. The qualification of materials required extensive thermal and structural testing as well as representative environment testing. Test results will be presented. In addition to the 3rd generation PICA and 3MDCP technical results, this paper summarizes the legacy of flight heatshield fabrication at Spirit for seven NASA missions, highlighting the development of the materials and manufacturing capabilities. "

References: [1] Szalai, Slimko, and Hoffman, Mars Science Laboratory Heatshield Development, Implementation, and Lessons Learned, Journal of Spacecraft and Rockets, Vol. 51, No. 4, July–August 2014. [2] Stackpoole, Venkatapathy, and Violette, Sustaining PICA for future NASA Robotic Science Missions including NF-4 and Discovery, IEEE Aerospace Conference, March 2018. [3] Gasch, et. al, Qualification of Domestic Lyocell Based Phenolic Impregnated Carbon Ablator (Pica-D) for Nasa Missions, 2nd International Conference on Flight Vehicles, Aerothermodynamics and Re-entry Missions & Engineering (FAR), 19 - 23 June 2022. [4] Wright, et. al, The Dragonfly Entry and Descent System, IPPW 2019; Oxford, UK, July 12, 2019 [5] Gramling, et, al, Mars Sample Return, Committee on Astrobiology and Planetary Sciences, ntsr.nasa.gov, September 29, 2022. [6] Gardner, Heatshield for Extreme Environmental Entry Technology: A broader mission, Composites World, September 2018, p 84. [7] Perino, et. al, A New Era and a New Trade Space: Evaluating Earth Entry Vehicles Concepts for a Potential 2026 Mars Sample Return, International Planetary Probe Workshop, June, 2018.

Conference: CAMX 2024 | San Diego CA

Publication Date: 2024/9/9

SKU: TP24-0000000242

Pages: 19

Price: $38.00