Silicone impregnated refractory ceramic ablator

Silicone Impregnated Refractory Ceramic Ablator, or SIRCA, is a lightweight ceramic ablative material, often used in thermal protection systems to protect parts of launch vehicles and spacecraft from very high temperature heat sources.[1] SIRCA was used for ceramic substrates on both the Viking spacecraft and the Space Shuttle,[2] and was also used on the aeroshells for Mars Pathfinder and the Mars Exploration Rovers.[1] It was developed at NASA Ames Research Center in the 1980s and 1990s.[2]

## Description

SIRCA typically has a density between 0.20–0.40 grams per cubic centimetre (12–25 lb/cu ft) and can handle a heat flux of up to 300 watts per square centimetre (2.6 hp/sq in)[2] and is easily machined to custom shapes.[1]

## References

1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 Sepka, Steven A.; Samareh, Jamshid A. (26 June 2015). "Thermal Protection System Mass Estimating Relationships for Blunt-Body, Earth Entry Spacecraft". 45th AIAA Thermophysics Conference, Dallas Texas. https://ntrs.nasa.gov/archive/nasa/casi.ntrs.nasa.gov/20150018864.pdf.
2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 Rasky, Daniel J. (2012-02-28). "A Perspective on the Design and Development of the SpaceX Dragon Spacecraft Heatshield". NASA. https://uknowledge.uky.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?referer=https://duckduckgo.com/&httpsredir=1&article=1029&context=ablation. Retrieved 2018-03-19.

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