Enhanced Radiation Cooling System for Metallic TPS

In the framework of the design of the DART experimental re-entry vehicle, a skin cooling device had been developed to increase the maximum allowable heat flux on the metallic outer skin of the module. The cooling device proved to be effective during thermal tests and the results show that the maximum allowable heat flux for the applied super alloy can be increased from 295 W/m(2) to 530 W/m(2). The efficiency of the device is already close to the theoretical maximum and the effective operational period is sufficient for experimental re-entry vehicles.