The Thermal Protection System (TPS) enables NASA’s Parker Solar Probe to get close to the Sun. The TPS is a composite structure made of top and bottom carbon fiber facesheets with carbon-carbon foam between them. At closest approach, the front surface of the heat shield will be at about 1371 degrees Celsius (2500 degrees Fahrenheit), the back surface the heat shield will be about 315 degrees Celsius (600 degrees Fahrenheit), but then the spacecraft bus is basically sitting at 30 degrees Celsius (85 degrees Fahrenheit). Patrick Hill (Deputy Project Manager for Parker Solar Probe) and Betsy Congdon (Lead Thermal Protection Engineer), both from the Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Laboratory, explain the design of the heat shield.
Credit: NASA/Goddard Space Flight Center/Johns Hopkins APL
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