Thermal Protection Systems
A thermal protection system or TPS is the barrier that protects a spacecraft during the searing heat of atmospheric reentry. A secondary goal may be to protect the spacecraft from the heat and cold of space while on orbit. Multiple approaches for the thermal protection of spacecraft are in use, among them ablative heat shields, passive cooling and active cooling of spacecraft surfaces.
Read more about this topic: Atmospheric Entry
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“Our little systems have their day;
They have their day and cease to be:
They are but broken lights of thee,
And thou, O Lord, art more than they.”
—Alfred Tennyson (1809–1892)