Lunar-derived heatshields

[spacester]

I'm just curious, and too busy to research this myself.<br /><br />Is glass a good ablator material?<br /><br />If heatshields were created from lunar regolith and attached to re-entry capsules, would they do a good job of protecting the contents of the capsule from the energy of re-entry?<br /> <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> </div>

 

[le3119]

Close! According to Wikipedia, "the most common material for ablative heat shields is a low density Phenolic resin filled with Glass fibers or Glass microspheres." <br /><br />Basically, phenolic (from carbolic acid) resin is the gluey substance in which are suspended fiberglass or microballoons, two good glass insulators.<br /><br />Ablative heat shielding is that type which shields the vehicle from the hot plasma by simply burning away. So its cheap and replacable.

 

[chriscdc]

And thus another fraction comes off the cost of the VSE.<br />First industry module to land on the moon should make heat shields.