MAN Technologie is developing high-temperature resistant, ceramics-based, lightweight materials for the NASA X-38 International Space Station emergency return spacecraft.
MAN will supply the body flaps and wing leading edges for the X-38, key components in steering the lifting-body craft during its re-entry into the Earth's atmosphere. The material is made of fibre-reinforced ceramics capable of surviving temperatures as high as 1,600°C.
The X-38 will be able to return an entire six-person ISS crew to Earth in the event of a major catastrophe such as a collision with a large piece of orbiting space debris.
Source: Flight Daily News
