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NASA NTRS · 20190030273

TUFROC Thermal Protection System

Feldman, Jay·Stewart, David·Leiser, Daniel·Switzer, Matthew·Gokcen, Tahir·Skokova, Kristina
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Abstract

Toughened Unipiece Fibrous Reinforced Oxidation-resistant Composite (TUFROC) is a tiled Thermal Protection System (TPS) suitable for reusable entry heating at 2900+ °F and with single use potential up to at least 3600 °F. TUFROC was initially developed for NASA's X-37 project and ultimately resulted in use on the Air Force X-37B as the wing leading edge (WLE) of the vehicle. TUFROC has similar high temperature capability compared with carbon/carbon, but is manufactured at an order of magnitude lower cost & faster schedule.

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Feldman, Jay, Stewart, David, Leiser, Daniel, Switzer, Matthew, Gokcen, Tahir, Skokova, Kristina. 2019-08-26. TUFROC Thermal Protection System. https://ntrs.nasa.gov/citations/20190030273

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