For LEO it should be fine, but for interplanetary velocities, it will need frequent refurbishment. I think Musk talked about 12 mars launches between major refurbishments. The tanker will have 100 reuses, since that only goes to LEO. So that should give you an estimate of the capability of the TPS.
Quote from: Elmar Moelzer on 04/02/2018 04:02 pmFor LEO it should be fine, but for interplanetary velocities, it will need frequent refurbishment. I think Musk talked about 12 mars launches between major refurbishments. The tanker will have 100 reuses, since that only goes to LEO. So that should give you an estimate of the capability of the TPS.I think you should try to find out where that is, because I feel like I've heard it all about ITS and BFR, scouring everything, and I never heard reuse numbers. I just heard roughly "there will be some ablation of the heat shield on Mars."
Well, 12 reuses to Mars and back is a timeframe of over 25 years when using every minimum energy opportunity. Even traditional airframes have a lifetime on the same order of magnitude, so the heat shield won't be the only thing that needs refurbishing.
I have wondered if they will produce some highly automated refurbishment method, eg scanning each inch, repairing cracks and 3d printing shielding back on where it is needed. (if that makes any sense for something like pica-x)With enough automation refurbishing the shield might be just another mundane operation between each flight like refilling the tanks.
How easy would it be to accurately test or simulate the wear on a BFR heat shield?
Quote from: Slarty1080 on 04/07/2018 06:42 pmHow easy would it be to accurately test or simulate the wear on a BFR heat shield?I think the BFS- grasshopper flights planned for next year are meant to test that out (among other things).
So it would appear difficult to test as it needs to be tested in situ high in the atmosphere with a special vehicle (grasshopper flights). What about simulation? How good is that likely to be?
Will BFS's winglets have control surfaces?-MG
At the FH Demo post-launch briefing, Musk discussed the heating profiles that are coming up in the computer simulations for BFS entries, at both Mars and Earth.He was discussing it in such a detailed fashion that I can't imagine SpaceX isn't pretty solidly aware of what their TPS is going to have to deal with. As it's supposed to be PICA-X based, and SpaceX is already familiar with that material, again I would imagine they have the various specifications for its application and refurbishment pretty well patted into shape already...
If so then why are they advertising for someone with "heritage" tile TPS experience?