EXPERIMENTAL METHOD USING ARC WIND TUNNEL TO SIMULATE A NEW TECHNIQUE FOR COMMUNICATING WITH A REENTRY PROBE HAVING A THERMAL SHIELD MADE OF LATS MATERIALS

Entering a planetary atmosphere is one of the most claim missions as the space probe faces a loss of communication, acknowledged as communication blackout, due to the plasma sheath occurred, caused by temperatures of several thousand degrees in front of the space probe. This paper presents a study about a new method of communication called end of radio silence using the arc heating facilities of Japan. The purpose of the experiment was to test a heat shield equipped with transmitter placed behind it, in a plasma flow of high enthalpy. A receiver was installed in the shroud of the vacuum chamber, protected from the hot gas. Another purpose was to study the behavior of a new type of ablative materials called LATS (Light-weight Ablator Series for Transfer Vehicle Systems) for protecting the space probe against severe heating. The experiment was carried out by using LATS, placed in front of the transmitter for several megawatts per square meter of heat flux. The main measured data are the surface temperature, the thermal performances like mass recession rate, the temperature of transmitter and the electrical parameters as received signal strength indicator RSSI.