In the early days of space travel, the development of thermal protection systems for re-entry was mainly based on an experimental approach for both design of materials and testing. During this period of trial and error, the concept of ablative material was discovered resulting in the ideal matter for re-entry rockets and space vehicles to isolate and protect them from hyperthermal effects of the environment. In his book, Ablative Thermal Protection Systems Modeling, Georges Duffa explains the history of ablative materials and looks into the future of its design process. The objective of...
In the early days of space travel, the development of thermal protection systems for re-entry was mainly based on an experimental approach for both de...