AVCOAT

AVCOAT was used for the heat shield on NASA's Apollo command module. In its final Apollo form, this material was called AVCOAT 5026–39.

Although AVCOAT was not used for the Space Shuttle orbiters, NASA again used the material for its Orion spacecraft{{Cite web|url=https://www.nasa.gov/home/hqnews/2009/apr/HQ_09-080_Orion_Heat_Shield.html|title=NASA - NASA Selects Material for Orion Spacecraft Heat Shield|website=www.nasa.gov}} first for the initial Orion test and then for a different type of heat shield for the later Orions. The Avcoat used on the two types of Orion shield was reformulated to meet environmental legislation that was enacted after the end of Apollo.{{Cite web|url=https://www.flightglobal.com/space/nasas-orion-heat-shield-decision-expected-this-month/85440.article|title=Flightglobal.com - NASA's Orion heat shield decision expected this month (Oct 3, 2009)}}{{Cite web|url=https://www.thefreelibrary.com/Company+Watch+-+NASA-a0198584187|title=Company Watch - NASA. - Free Online Library|website=www.thefreelibrary.com}}

• Material: epoxy phenol formaldehyde resin with special additives originally for use in a fiberglass honeycomb matrix.
• Density: {{convert|32|lb/ft3}}
• Post-ablation char-layer composition: {{convert|6.7|lb/ft3}} of carbon and {{convert|8|lb/ft3}} of silica.

File:Apollo 12 heat shield.JPG capsule]]

AVCOAT was first used on the parts of the Apollo spacecraft orbiter and as a unit attached to the crew module. The heat shield is a honeycomb structure filled with the AVCOAT. NASA confirmed that this is made of silica fibers with an epoxy novolac resin filled in a fiberglass-phenolic manufactured directly onto the heat shield.{{cite news |last1=Prucey |first1=Rachel |last2=Clem |first2=Kylie |title=NASA Selects Material for Orion Spacecraft Heat Shield |url=https://www.nasa.gov/centers/ames/news/releases/2009/09-39AR.html|url-status=dead |access-date=3 April 2019 |agency=NASA |publisher=NASA News|archive-url=http://web.archive.org/web/20090411125852/https://www.nasa.gov/centers/ames/news/releases/2009/09-39AR.html|archive-date=April 11, 2009}}{{cite web |title=Aerothermodynamics HEOMD Projects |url=https://www.nasa.gov/centers/ames/aerothermodynamics/HEOMD.html |website=Nasa.gov |access-date=20 August 2020}} The paste-like material was gunned into each cell of the fiberglass honeycomb individually.{{cite web | url=https://www.compositesworld.com/blog/post/musings-about-heat-shields | title=Musings about heat shields }}

NASA's Apollo Flight Test Analysis, AVCOAT 5026-39/HC-G material was tested on the nose cone of a Pacemaker sounding rocket.{{cite journal |last1=Graves |first1=Randolph A. |last2=Witte |first2=William G. |title=Flight-Test Analysis of Apollo Heat-shield Material Using the Pacemaker Vehicle System. |journal=NASA Scientific and Technical Information (STI) Program |date=August 1968 |volume=D |issue=4137 |pages=11–12 |url=https://ntrs.nasa.gov/archive/nasa/casi.ntrs.nasa.gov/19680021275.pdf |access-date=3 April 2019}} The temperature and ablation measurements were made at four locations on the nose cap. The report noted that the wear of the shield is due to the aerodynamic shear and heating rate. The report also noted that scientists believed that the ablation was done in a controlled manner.

File:Eft1 heat shield build.jpg

File:Eft-1 avcoat injection.jpg

To protect the Crew Module during Earth re-entry, the dish shaped AVCOAT heat shield ablator system was selected. NASA announced that this module would encounter temperature as high as 5,000 degrees Fahrenheit (2760 °C).{{cite news |last1=Clem |first1=Kylie |last2=Clem |first2=Rachel |title=NASA Selects Material for Orion Spacecraft Heat Shield |url=https://www.nasa.gov/centers/ames/news/releases/2009/09-39AR.html |access-date=2 April 2019 |agency=NASA |publisher=NASA News Release |date=April 7, 2009}} Licensed by Textron,{{cite news |last1=Herridge |first1=Linda |title=Heat shield install brings Orion spacecraft closer to space |url=http://www.spacedaily.com/reports/Heat_shield_install_brings_Orion_spacecraft_closer_to_space_999.html |access-date=2 April 2019 |agency=KSC News |publisher=SpaceDaily}} AVCOAT material is produced at New Orleans's Michoud Assembly Facility by Lockheed Martin. This ablative heat shield was installed at the base of the crew module to provide a controlled erosion moving heat away from the crew module into the atmosphere.

John Kowal, Orion's thermal protections systems manager at Johnson Space Center, discussed the biggest challenge with AVCOAT has been reviving the technology for manufacturing with similar performance as demonstrated in the Apollo Missions.

After the Apollo missions, Avcoat variants were produced and studied. Orion Chief Engineer requested the heat shield to be redesigned,{{cite news |last1=Hoffpauir |first1=Daniel |title=An Alternate Orion Heat Shield Carrier Structural Design |url=https://www.nasa.gov/offices/nesc/articles/an-alternate-orion-heat-shield-carrier-structural-design.html |access-date=29 April 2019 |agency=NASA |publisher=NASA News}} however the final design was not selected.

The Orion Crew Module was first designed for the NASA's Constellation program. The heat shield was designed and manufactured similarly to the Apollo version as a monolithic fiberglass honeycomb which was then filled with the AVCOAT. The honey comb consisted of 330,000 small cells. Each cell was individually filled with AVCOAT one at a time by a technician with a pressure gun, with the process taking more than six months for the shield.{{cite web|url=https://www.nasa.gov/missions/artemis/orion/partnerships-make-missions-possible/|title=Partnerships Make Missions Possible|first=Mark A.|last=Garcia|date=July 16, 2013|access-date=January 2, 2025}}

The EFT-1 mission performed two orbits of Earth providing the opportunity for Orion's systems to be tested. It took about four hours with the splash down in the ocean.{{cite news |last1=Kramer |first1=Miriam |title=NASA's 1st Orion Spaceship Gets World's Largest Heat Shield (Photos) |url=https://www.space.com/26144-nasa-orion-spacecraft-giant-heat-shield.html |access-date=3 April 2019 |publisher=Space.com}} This was the only flight with this heat shield.

File:ASRC AVCOAT.jpg

File:Artemis I Orion heat shield.jpg

After the end of the Constellation program, Orion was adapted for use with the Space Launch System to replace the Space Shuttle program. This spacecraft was planned to take astronauts to the International Space Station (ISS) in 2015 and to the moon in 2024. However, Orion was never used for ISS. Its first flight after EFT-1 was the uncrewed Artemis I, which flew in 2022.

Manufacture of the EFT-1 heat shield was labor-intensive and there were concerns that the monolithic honeycomb design was inappropriate for the large Orion shield. Therefore, the shield was redesigned to use carefully shaped Avcoat blocks instead.

The AVCOAT material heat shield went through several rounds of testing before being chosen for the installation. During the investigation of the thermochemical response of Avcoat TPS (based on first principles for comparison with EFT-1 data), things being tested on the heat-shield included: modeling of gas transport, heat transfer, and TPS material regression.{{cite news |last1=Levin |first1=Deborah |title=Investigating the Thermochemical Response of Avcoat TPS from First Principles for Comparison with EFT-1 Data |url=https://www.nasa.gov/feature/investigating-the-thermochemical-response-of-avcoat-tps-from-first-principles-for-comparison/ |access-date=3 April 2019 |agency=University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign |publisher=NASA News}}

Orion's 16.5 feet AVCOAT heat shield was secured onto the Orion Crew Module using 68 bolts by Technicians at NASA's Kennedy Space Center (KSC) in Florida. This heat shield is covered in titanium truss and a composite substitute with an addition skin made of carbon fiber layers.

Orion's heat-shield was designed and manufactured by Lockheed Martin. The heat shield is like pieces of a puzzle that all must fit together perfectly and the bolt fittings must be lined up.

After the heat-shield's installation, access to components of the crew module became difficult or no longer accessible.

• Several subscale test flights

[https://ntrs.nasa.gov/api/citations/19680021275/downloads/19680021275.pdf FLIGHT-TEST ANALYSIS OF APOLLO HEAT-SHIELD MATERIAL USING THE PACEMAKER VEHICLE SYSTEM] NASA Technical Note D-4713, pp. 8, 1968-08, accessed 2024-10-29. "Avcoat 5026-39/HC-G is an epoxy novolac resin with special additives in a fiberglass honeycomb matrix. In fabrication, the empty honeycomb is bonded to the primary structure and the resin is gunned into each cell individually. ... The overall density of the material is 32 lb/ft³ (512 kg/m³). The char of the material is composed mainly of silica and carbon. It is necessary to know the amounts of each in the char because in the ablation analysis the silica is considered to be inert, but the carbon is considered to enter into exothermic reactions with oxygen. ... At 2160° R (1200° K), 54 percent by weight of the virgin material has volatilized and 46 percent has remained as char. ... In the virgin material, 25 percent by weight is silica, and since the silica is considered to be inert the char-layer composition becomes 6.7 lb/ft³ (107.4 kg/m³) of carbon and 8 lb/ft³ (128.1 kg/m³) of silica."

• AS-201[https://ntrs.nasa.gov/archive/nasa/casi.ntrs.nasa.gov/19740007423_1974007423.pdf Apollo Experience Report - Thermal Protection Subsystem (Jan. 1974)]
• AS-202
• Apollo 4
• Apollo 6
• EFT-1
• Artemis 1

• Apollo 7, Apollo 8, Apollo 9, Apollo 10
• Apollo 11, Apollo 12, Apollo 13, Apollo 14
• Apollo 15, Apollo 16, Apollo 17
• Skylab 2, Skylab 3, Skylab 4
• Apollo–Soyuz Test Project

Phenolic-impregnated carbon ablator

{{Reflist}}

• [https://ntrs.nasa.gov/archive/nasa/casi.ntrs.nasa.gov/19740007423_1974007423.pdf Apollo Experience Report - Thermal Protection Subsystem (Jan. 1974)]
• [https://web.archive.org/web/20100528174222/http://gltrs.grc.nasa.gov/reports/2006/TM-2006-214372.pdf Apollo Seals: A Basis for the Crew Exploration Vehicle Seals (Nov. 2006)]
• [https://ntrs.nasa.gov/archive/nasa/casi.ntrs.nasa.gov/20060053240_2006255396.pdf Notes on Earth Atmospheric Entry for Mars Sample Return Missions (Sept. 2006)]
• [https://www.nasa.gov/missions/artemis/nasa-identifies-cause-of-artemis-i-orion-heat-shield-char-loss/ NASA paper on Artemis I heat shield damage]
• [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mAP-ywsh_HI NASA press conference with extensive description of AVCOAT history and details]

{{DEFAULTSORT:Avcoat 5026-39}}

Category:Spacecraft components