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Space

ESA to test a reusable origami heat guard for spacecraft

By Loz Blain
May 25, 2023
ESA to test a reusable origami heat guard for spacecraft
The Pridwen heat shield is set for its first orbital re-entry test later this year
The Pridwen heat shield is set for its first orbital re-entry test later this year
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The Pridwen heat shield is set for its first orbital re-entry test later this year
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The Pridwen heat shield is set for its first orbital re-entry test later this year
Folding up tightly for launch, the shield deploys on re-entry to reject heat and slow the craft down enough to be caught in a hover net
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Folding up tightly for launch, the shield deploys on re-entry to reject heat and slow the craft down enough to be caught in a hover net

ESA is preparing to test a very cool new fold-out heat shield for protecting spacecraft on re-entry. The Pridwen won't burn away like ablative heat shields, and it'll also slow falling satellites down enough to be caught in a hover net.

Pridwen, named for King Arthur's shield, is designed to be super-compact, folding down using a "modified origami technique" to fit inside the launcher until it's needed as the craft is coming back down to Earth.

At that point, it pops out and unfurls, looking like an upside-down umbrella, presenting a ton more surface area to the air than the ablative heat shielding currently used on the exterior of many re-entry craft. This allows it to radiate the heat away, rather than needing to break up and burn off. The craft is then caught in a water-based hover net dubbed Fielder, an uncrewed vessel that "maneuvers itself underneath a re-entry vehicle to soften the landing and enable quick return to a port."

Folding up tightly for launch, the shield deploys on re-entry to reject heat and slow the craft down enough to be caught in a hover net
Folding up tightly for launch, the shield deploys on re-entry to reject heat and slow the craft down enough to be caught in a hover net

It's been tested from heights up to 17 km (56,000 ft), and its creator, Welsh company Space Forge, has used it to successfully capture test items in a net that were falling at terminal velocity. So it'll soon get its first chance to bring something down from space, with the company's first launch, ForgeStar-1A, later this year.

"Supermaterials made in space will be able to save industries on Earth enormous amounts of energy, limiting their CO2 emissions in a way their terrestrial counterparts can never match," said co-founder and CTO of Space Forge, Andrew Bacon. "Pridwen and Fielder are key parts of our plan to develop fully reusable manufacturing satellites that can kick start a new industrial revolution."

This tech could eventually help make small spacecraft re-usable at the end of their missions – but Space Forge has another goal in mind. Its ultimate plan is to set up a space-based manufacturing service, taking advantage of low gravity, low contamination, extreme temperatures and the natural vacuum of space to produce high-value goods like pharmaceuticals, superconductors and superalloys. In that context, Pridwen would shield the goods on their way back down to Earth.

The video below has more.

Introducing Pridwen | Space Forge

Source: ESA

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2 comments
Loz Blain
Loz Blain
Loz has been one of our most versatile contributors since 2007, and has since proven himself as a photographer, videographer, presenter, producer and podcast engineer, as well as a senior features writer. Joining the team as a motorcycle specialist, he's covered just about everything for New Atlas, concentrating lately on clean energy, AI, humanoid robotics, next-gen aircraft, and the odd bit of music and automotive. In February 2024, he stepped up to lead New Atlas as Editorial Director, and he's as curious as anyone to see how that pans out.

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Just whom do they think they are fooling here, other than themselves? When are these supposedly smart people going to jump off of the "CO2 is bad" bandwagon and come back to reality? Is it going to be at the same time they realize that farms do NOT produce any Nitrogen emissions? No one yet that I have read about, has explained what it is that happens on farms that releases Nitrogen in any form that is bad for us or any plant life! It's just all of a sudden, since climate change via CO2 emissions scare is losing its place in the fear mongering trades, that it has shifted over to Nitrogen! About 78% of our atmosphere is Nitrogen already, and no more of it is being made since it's an Element, why the big scare over it??
aksdad
Fascinating idea. I'd like to see it in action. Elon Musk introduced us to self-landing, reusable rocket boosters that seemed like science fiction but has now become routine. Will this be next?