A Multifunctional Hot Structure Heatshield Concept for Planetary Entry

A multifunctional hot structure heatshield concept is being developed to provide technology enhancements with significant benefits compared to the current state-of-the-art heatshield technology. These benefits can potentially enable future planetary missions. The concept is unique in integrating the function of the thermal protection system with the primary load carrying structural component. An advanced carbon-carbon material system has been evaluated for the load carrying structure, which will be utilized on the outer surface of the heatshield, and thus will operate as a hot structure exposed to the severe aerodynamic heating associated with planetary entry. Flexible, highly efficient blanket insulation is sized for use underneath the hot structure to maintain required operational internal temperatures. The approach followed includes developing preliminary designs to demonstrate feasibility of the concept and benefits over a traditional, baseline design. Where prior work focused on a concept for an Earth entry vehicle, the current efforts presented here are focused on developing a generic heatshield model and performing a trade study for a Mars entry application. This trade study includes both structural and thermal evaluation. The results indicate that a hot structure concept is a feasible alternative to traditional heatshields and may offer advantages that can enable future entry missions.