Developments on Cryogenic Tank Insulation for Reusable Launchers 2004-01-2565
Reusability of next generation launchers needs that cryogenic insulation of LH2 and LOX tanks is able to withstand without significant degradation critical environments experienced especially during pre-launch and re-entry phases.
An extensive characterisation campaign is presently on-going to improve performances of available insulations that only partially sustain thermo-mechanical loads and physico-chemical characteristics of the operative environment.
The campaign is divided in two different slices:
The first one has the objective of outlining the best insulation material and configuration; the second one foresses a test representative of the flight conditions performed with the selected insulation on a sub-scale Al-Li tank demonstrator.
Preliminary results achieved in the frame of the first slice are presented.
