After traveling through space, the spacecraft has to come back to Earth at extremely high speeds, around 25,000 miles per hour. And as a spacecraft comes back into Earth’s atmosphere, it compresses the air, creating temperatures that can reach 5,000°F! To endure these conditions, spacecraft are designed to survive extremely high speeds and temperatures. The Orion heat shield was specially designed to protect the capsule with an Avcoat material that burns away the heat to keep the inside safe.
I’ve been reading recently about how important this heat shield is for not just this mission, but for the future of the Artemis program. Reentry isn’t just the end of this mission; it also has a large impact on whether more Artemis missions can happen. Currently, engineering and looking at how this specific heat shield acts in these conditions, especially because earlier tests showed damage. Even though the spacecraft made it back in both Artemis missions, these results brought up questions about how well the system is designed for these harsh conditions.
Not only is reentry dangerous, but now it has become controversial. NASA is currently working on this technology and future missions, but at the same time, is facing speculation on the safety of its technology, which seems to have, as the New York Times says, “known shortcomings.” Since Artemis is pushing the bounds of space travel, and therefore putting more heat and pressure on the capsule, the materials are being pushed to their limits, which is shaping the way engineers are thinking about design.
Reentry isn’t just the return to Earth, it determines what comes next. Future missions depend on this problem having a solution because if astronauts can’t return, then human exploration is a lot harder to achieve. So although the launch might be more entertaining and definitely is discussed more in the media, the reentry is one of the most important parts.
With so much information surrounding the Aremis program, one question keeps coming to the surface for many people: How do they reenter? While many people think about the launch and the rocket roaring to lift off the ground, the most dangerous part is the very end, the reentry.
After traveling through space, the spacecraft has to come back to Earth at extremely high speeds, around 25,000 miles per hour. And as a spacecraft comes back into Earth’s atmosphere, it compresses the air, creating temperatures that can reach 5,000°F! To endure these conditions, spacecraft are designed to survive extremely high speeds and temperatures. The Orion heat shield was specially designed to protect the capsule with an Avcoat material that burns away the heat to keep the inside safe.
I’ve been reading recently about how important this heat shield is for not just this mission, but for the future of the Artemis program. Reentry isn’t just the end of this mission; it also has a large impact on whether more Artemis missions can happen. Currently, engineering and looking at how this specific heat shield acts in these conditions, especially because earlier tests showed damage. Even though the spacecraft made it back in both Artemis missions, these results brought up questions about how well the system is designed for these harsh conditions.
Not only is reentry dangerous, but now it has become controversial. NASA is currently working on this technology and future missions, but at the same time, is facing speculation on the safety of its technology, which seems to have, as the New York Times says, “known shortcomings.” Since Artemis is pushing the bounds of space travel, and therefore putting more heat and pressure on the capsule, the materials are being pushed to their limits, which is shaping the way engineers are thinking about design.
Reentry isn’t just the return to Earth; it determines what comes next. Future missions depend on this problem having a solution because if astronauts can’t return, then human exploration is a lot harder to achieve. So although the launch might be more entertaining and definitely is discussed more in the media, the reentry is one of the most important parts.
In Orbit 