A Perspective On The Design and Development of The SpaceX Dragon
A Perspective On The Design and Development of The SpaceX Dragon
A Perspective On The Design and Development of The SpaceX Dragon
by
Daniel J. Rasky, PhD
Beginning Here?
• Viking (1970’s)
– Apollo heatshield too heavy for Mars entry
– Silicone based moldable light-weight ablator reinforced with a
high-temperature honeycomb developed: super-lightweight
ablator - SLA-561
– Similar to Apollo TPS but lighter weight (~1/2 the density)
– Good insulator with a robust architecture
Polymer! Fibrous!
Matrix! Ceramic!
Substrate**!
Polymer!
Ceramic &! Impregnant!
Organic! (Multiple &!
Fillers! Graded!
Possible)!
(*e.g. Avcoat -5026, SLA-561V, Carbon-Phenolic)! (**e.g. silica, carbon, alumina fibers)!
Disadvantages:! Advantages:
– Little strength at high temperature – Good structural integrity at high temperature,
requiring reinforcing (e.g., honeycombs)! avoids need for reinforcing honeycombs
– Restrictive design and performance – Multiple and graded polymer impregnants
characteristics (e.g., thickness limits, possible to optimize ablative and insulative
pressure limits, heavy)! performance (e.g., SPLIT)
– Labor intensive manufacturing process, – Billet fabrication process giving a low cost,
giving high fabrication costs and lot to flexible, CAM compliant material
lot variations!
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• PICA
– Phenolic Impregnated Carbon Ablator
– Uses Fiberform substrates from FMI, with flight
grade phenolic impregnant
– Densities: 0.25 - 0.60 gm/cc PICA!
– For heat fluxes > 300 W/sqcm
– Patents 5,536,562 & 5,672,389
• SPLIT
– Secondary Polymer Layered Impregnated Tile
– Used with either SIRCA or PICA to improve ablator Phenolic!
effectiveness by augmented passive phase
change and transpiration cooling
– Densities: 0.25 - 0.80 gm/cc
PICA/SPLIT!
– Patents 6,955,853
PMMA!
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Stardust Capsule,
including PICA
Heatshield,
on display at the
Smithsonian National
Air and Space Museum
Back to SpaceX…
• By 2007, SpaceX had selected
PICA as their material of choice
for the Dragon primary
heatshield
– Elon very impressed with Stardust
performance and capabilities
• Spring 2008 through 2009, Dr. Rasky works closely with SpaceX
(~1/2 time at SpaceX facilities) and other colleagues at NASA
Ames to transfer PICA, and support Dragon heatshield design
15
Dragon/
Falcon-9
Ready for
Launch
22
Dragon/
Falcon-9
Launch
• December 8,
2010
23
Dragon Re-entry
Artists Reconstruction!
24
Dragon
Descent
25
Dragon Recovery
Traditional Government
Aerospace Business Model
31
Traditional Government
Aerospace Business Model
• Modeled on military organizational approaches:
– Hierarchal, with chain of command
– Much more focus on control than on efficient use of resources
– Rely on a large cadre of internal experts and unique facilities
– Form key alliances with customers, stake holders and specialized
suppliers
– Follow a fairly rigid requirements driven design approach
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Traditional Government
Aerospace Business Model
• Modeled on military organizational approaches:
– Hierarchal, with chain of command
– Much more focus on control than on efficient use of resources
– Rely on a large cadre of internal experts and unique facilities
– Form key alliances with customers, stake holders and specialized
suppliers
– Follow a fairly rigid requirements driven design approach
Traditional Government
Aerospace Business Model
• Modeled on military organizational approaches:
– Hierarchal, with chain of command
– Much more focus on control than on efficient use of resources
– Rely on a large cadre of internal experts and unique facilities
– Form key alliances with customers, stake holders and specialized
suppliers
– Follow a fairly rigid requirements driven design approach
Questions
45
Backup Slides
46
Historical Perspective:
Ablative TPS
• TPS Investment in the 60’s - Focused Program -
Technology development with specific mission goal
– Material Performance, Heat Shield System Development and
Design Architecture
– Test, Test and more Test
– Ground and flight test => Material behavior, Analytical capabilities
and model development
EDL
• Pioneer-Venus, Galileo
– NASA didn’t have materials to handle entry conditions
– DoD investment in carbon phenolic leveraged to these missions
– But, NASA did not fully explore material performance limits due to
facility capability (e.g., spallation on Galileo)
Arc Jet Testing
Commercial space is an important
and growing segment of
the US space industry...
Scaled Composites!
XCOR!
Blue Origin!
SpaceX! Orbital Sciences!
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Avco-5026