A spacecraft designed to study how objects burn up in Earth鈥檚 atmosphere is about to be launched from the International Space Station (ISS) 鈥� complete with a nose made of cork.
Called (QubeSat for Aerothermodynamic Research and Measurements on Ablation), the shoebox-sized probe will be released from Japan鈥檚 Kibo module on the ISS later this week. It will slowly descend towards Earth over several months before it re-enters the atmosphere.
The spacecraft is shaped like a shuttlecock to maintain stability within the atmosphere. Its front 鈥� made of cork 鈥� will bear the brunt of the extreme temperatures of re-entry. As this happens, the cork will gradually lose material to dissipate heat, a process known as ablation, with sensors inside monitoring the fiery descent until the probe is destroyed.
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鈥淲e want to study the deorbiting process, how you demise, how you disappear,鈥� says Olivier Chazot from the Von Karman Institute in Belgium. 鈥淪ince Yuri Gagarin [the first human in orbit] we know how to re-enter. The problem is, nobody knows enough to make re-entry economically viable and without any risk.鈥�
Spacecraft designed to return through Earth鈥檚 atmosphere are equipped with a heat shield, often made of a carbon composite or similar material that ablates on re-entry to channel heat away. Cork is a cheaper, lightweight alternative. It has been used on space missions before, such as for the space shuttle鈥檚 and the European Space Agency鈥檚 Intermediate eXperimental Vehicle.
The data from Qarman鈥檚 re-entry will be useful for understanding how space debris burns up in the atmosphere, as well as looking at ways to optimise and understand re-entry better, something that will be crucial with more frequent space flight in future.
鈥淚f you want space transportation to become a reality for society, then you need to understand [re-entry] better,鈥� says Chazot.
