Development of Mid Density Carbon Phenolic Ablators for Future Re-Entry Capsules

Abstract

Mid-density carbon phenolic (MD-CFRP) is a promising candidate for heat shield materials for future re-entry capsules because it could provide us with much lighter heat shields than the conventional high-density CFRP and also it could be possible to be free of delamination even if it was heated in the cross-ply direction, Here in this paper, we introduce our in-house R&D activities on the MD-CFRP which is currently underway.