I was listening to the news about the much-delayed launch of the Space Shuttle, and after reading News.com's report of a high number of "debris incidents" an idea struck me.
The video of the debris impacts during the ill-fated
Columbia Mission reminded me of snowballs hitting a wall, shattering on impact and turning into a cloud of powder and fragments. I thought "why not put some kind of barrier in front of the heat shield surfaces to take the impact and smash the larger fragments into dust?"
Well, of course, they would have done that if it were practical - wouldn't they? If so, then clearly the addition of some solid barrier or enclosure for the fragile surfaces has been considered and rejected for reasons of weight or complexity. But is there some way of achieving the same benefits at low cost in money, complexity and weight?
Yes, I believe. Anyone who's seen a snowball strike a wire fence would know that the snowball is sliced and smashed into harmlessness very effectively, while not requiring a strong or solid structure. What if NASA placed a shroud of chicken wire (or some high-tech version of same) held out at one meter from the Orbiter's skin? This would be very lightweight and would require minimal support to maintain its shape. The "shroud" could be removed from the Orbiter and stowed aboard for re-use, or simply be allowed to burn off during re-entry.
Is this a crazy idea, or might it just work? Anyone reading this who can pass it on to the guys in NASA, please do so let me know.
