Abstract
A history of space development is briefly reviewed in point of thermal phenomena. The cause of an accident of Space Shuttle Challenger on January 28, 1986 is introduced as the loss of sealing functions of a seal of a solid rocket booster at a low temperature. A new Space Transportation System using a space shuttle is described as an international cooperation program. Energy balances of spacecrafts during a mission are analyzed thermally from lift-off to landing. The heat-resistant materials of spacecrafts including silica tiles of space shuttle orbiter are criticized for the use. Materials processing at a microgravity environment is predicted as a very interesting field to the materials science and life science. The utilization of space lab in this field is emphasized by introducing SL-1 project of NASA/ESA in November, 1983. First Materials Processing Test of Japanese Government is reviewed precisely.
