PICA-X

E57907

PICA-X is a SpaceX-developed, advanced heat shield material designed to protect Dragon spacecraft during the intense heat of atmospheric reentry.

Aliases (1)

Statements (31)
Predicate Object
instanceOf ablative thermal protection system
heat shield material
application high-speed atmospheric entry
orbital reentry
basedOn NASA PICA
category spacecraft thermal protection system material
designedFor Cargo Dragon
Crew Dragon
Dragon spacecraft
developer SpaceX
enables safe reentry from orbital velocities
improvesOn PICA
introducedBy SpaceX Dragon program
materialType phenolic impregnated carbon ablator
partOf Dragon spacecraft heat shield system
primaryFunction thermal protection during atmospheric reentry
property ablative cooling
high temperature resistance
improved manufacturability
low density
reduced manufacturing cost compared to original PICA
protects Dragon internal systems from reentry heating
Dragon pressure vessel
usedBy SpaceX
usedInMissionType cargo resupply missions to the International Space Station
crewed missions to low Earth orbit
usedOn Crew Dragon capsule heat shield
Dragon 1
Dragon 2
usedOnVehicle SpaceX Crew Dragon capsule
SpaceX Dragon capsule

Referenced by (3)
Subject (surface form when different) Predicate
Dragon 1
heatShield
Dragon spacecraft
heatShieldType
PICA-X ("PICA")
improvesOn

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