Hackaday · Creativity & design

DIY Recreation of NASA's Orion Heat Shield Issue

A recent experiment aimed to replicate the heat shield failure observed on NASA's Artemis I Orion capsule, where large sections detached upon re-entry.

The experiment involved creating segmented samples mirroring the Orion's heat shield structure, using NASA-published materials for the filler.

These samples, with embedded thermocouples, were then subjected to heat from a propane torch to simulate re-entry conditions.

The results indicated that gas buildup from sustained pyrolysis fractured the material, aligning with NASA's findings on the Orion's heat shield failure.

While the experiment had some flaws, such as residual heat from the copper structure, it demonstrated a viable method for testing ablative heat shields in a DIY lab setting.

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