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Reusable Launch Vehicle: Technology Development and Test Program
TABLE 4-1 Space Shuttle TPS Damage1
TPS
Discrepancy
N otes
Tile
Chips, gouges, coating cracks, edge and corner slumping (melting and deformation), erosion (tile material after loss of protective glass coating)
Most common TPS damage
Advanced Flexible Reusable Surface Insulation (AFRSI)
Coating loss, embrittlement, fabric frays, tears, broken threads, blanket debonds
Can be repaired
Felt Reusable Surface Insulation
Coating overheating, coating tears, joint seal damage, edge member damage
Least frequent
Reinforced Carbon-Carbon
Chips or cracks in SiC coating, flaking or loss of sealant, pin holes, exposure of underlying carbon substrate
Refurbished by vendor, less frequent than tile or AFRSI
Gap fillers and thermal barrier coatings
Lost coatings, frays, fabric breaking, tears, charring, protruding or lost gap fillers
Two of the major items that require reworking
Filler Bars
Overheating caused by out-of-tolerance steps, gaps, or heating environments
TABLE 4-2 100 Mission Maximum Operating Temperature for Space Shuttle Orbiter1
Material System
100 Mission Max. Operating Temp. (° F)
Failure Mode
Reinforced Carbon-Carbon
2960°
Carbon oxidation and mass loss
High Temperature Reusable Surface Insulation
2300°
Surface cracking and shrinkage
AFRSI
1500°
Fabric and thread embrittlement; susceptible to erosion
Low Temperature Reusable Surface Insulation
1200°
Surface cracking and shrinkage
Felt Reusable Surface Insulation
700°
Surface cracking and shrinkage
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