One Step Closer to Reusable Rockets

FortKnox writes: "One of the larger hurdles that reusable rockets have seen is the destruction the heat causes when in use. Scientists have developed a new thermal plating that hopes to eliminate that problem. The plating is called 'Adaptable, Robust, Metallic, Operable, Reusable TPS', or ARMOR for short. With talk of returning to the moon or landing on Mars, reusable rockets would give NASA a little breath of relief in the funding department..."

Re:ARMOR and my windshield

[PhuCknuT]

The ARMOR, just like current thermal tiles, is modular and easy to replace. What they are trying to do here isn't make an indestructable heat sheild, they are trying to make one that works better than the current one and is faster and cheaper to maintain.

Commercial availability?

[Winged Cat]

Great. So, when is anyone not affiliated with NASA - and who is actually working on ways to drive down launch costs, not just throwing lots of money at the problem without much results - going to be able to get their hands on it?

Never, you say? It's too expensive/complicated/restricted-for-national-secu rity
to let us ordinary folks get our hands on it? Why, in the IT industry I come from, son, we have a word for that: "vaporware".

Re:Next up

[Anonymous Coward]

Actually, the first ones were reused [rr.com]. Without washing them off between 'uses'.

Armor?

[LastToKnow]

How about Metallic, Interesting, Thermal Harm Resistant Intermediate Layer

Interesting Idea

[gizmo_mathboy]

While this is a very interesting idea, I don't see how NASA will hope to implement this or the 2nd gen RLV initiatives.

With their budgets not growing, lots of that budget earmarked for things other than direct space and aeronautical research. NASA has had to stop the research into hypersonic vehicles (X-43 project) among other projects.

It is good to see that ideas are being created, it's too bad that they might not be implemented

Re:Not True

[gizmo_mathboy]

Agreed, but the X-33 is just a hulk of its former self [www.space.com].

Wrong Category

[Perdo]

Not "Science"

"Marketing"

You have to look for the key words.

robust, temperature-thwarting, easily maintainable, economically viable, fast turnaround times, durable, increases the flight envelope of the vehicle, safer, reliable, less expensive, high flight rates, quick turn-around, three different features, almost a snap, bigger, lower density vehicles, step in the right direction, comprehensive, long-term plan, intentional, step-by-step approach.

GAG!

The current shuttle tiles may be in need of replacement but the way they are plaintively marketing ARMOR, you would think that it is competeing against a better idea from someone else. Perhaps something with some technical merit.

Funding relief?

[sigwinch]

With talk of returning to the moon or landing on Mars, reusable rockets would give NASA a little breath of relief in the funding department...

In other words, the lucrative one-shot launch vehicles would be defunded. (Even the NASA shuttle requires so much refurbishment that it is practically one shot.) It is therefore a threat to the gov't gravy train for NASA project managers and prime contractors. Remember that these people habitually block X projects, and they're the ones who destroyed the DC-X.

Re:Funding relief?

[Detritus]

You forgot the Illuminati.

Other than as a launch services customer, NASA has almost no financial involvement with current ELVs.

Isn't this a bit of a kludge ?

[Bitsy Boffin]

The way I see it this is just a kludge, a band aid slapped across the problem so it won't cause so much pain.

The real problem is not how to deal with the heat, but how to stop producing all that heat in the first place.

And the answer to that is to get away from this whole notion that to get something into space you have to ignite a whole load of chemicals in the general direction of the ground to get pushed in the general direction of space.

Only when the "rocket" idea is re-evaluated and ultimatly ditched can we get affordable, reusable and efficient space vehicles. It wasn't really a good idea to start with - now it's just really bad, if people had realised that from the start we could already be using something like Magnetic Lauches [slashdot.org] .

Re:Isn't this a bit of a kludge ?

[PhuCknuT]

The hear sheild isn't really for getting into space. It's for getting back. And the only way to not generate this heat on the way back is a powered descent, which would cost a hell of a lot more than heat shields, especially considering the extra launch weight of all that fuel fo rhte descent.