Phenolic-Impregnated Carbon Ablator

E939582

Phenolic-Impregnated Carbon Ablator is a lightweight, high-performance thermal protection material developed by NASA for spacecraft heat shields during atmospheric entry.

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Statements (48)

Predicate Object
instanceOf ablative heat shield material
spacecraft material
thermal protection material
abbreviation PICA NERFINISHED
advantage reduced mass compared to traditional ablators
suitable for very high heat flux environments
advantageOver carbon-phenolic
appliedAs heat shield tiles
monolithic heat shield blocks
category ablative thermal protection system
reentry vehicle technology
designedFor high-speed atmospheric entry
planetary exploration missions
sample return missions
developedBy NASA Ames Research Center NERFINISHED
developedForProgram NASA New Millennium Program technology development NERFINISHED
developedInCountry United States NERFINISHED
developer NASA NERFINISHED
feature char layer formation during ablation
mass loss to carry away heat
recession under heat load
firstMajorUse Stardust mission Earth reentry in 2006
materialComposition carbon fiber substrate
phenolic resin
operatingEnvironment high-enthalpy gas
hypersonic flow
shock-layer heating
property ablative cooling
high heat flux capability
high thermal performance
lightweight
low density
low thermal conductivity
relatedMaterial PICA-X NERFINISHED
relatedOrganization SpaceX NERFINISHED
testedAt NASA Ames arc-jet facilities NERFINISHED
usedFor atmospheric entry thermal protection
planetary entry vehicles
spacecraft heat shields
usedInDomain aerospace engineering
spacecraft design
usedOn Mars Science Laboratory test articles NERFINISHED
Orion heat shield test articles
SpaceX Cargo Dragon heat shield
SpaceX Crew Dragon heat shield NERFINISHED
SpaceX Dragon 2 NERFINISHED
Stardust sample return capsule NERFINISHED
Stardust spacecraft NERFINISHED

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NASA PICA abbreviationFor Phenolic-Impregnated Carbon Ablator