ipcm® Protective Coatings n. 33 - April 2020

Page 56

BRAND-NEW © European Space Agency

The launch of Solar Orbiter occurred on 10 February 2020 on an Atlas V 411 rocket from Cape Canaveral, Florida.

Solar Orbiter Reaches for The Sun Protected by SolarBlack Skin The Airbus built Sun explorer spacecraft Solar Orbiter was successfully

destructive discharge to the craft.

launched from Cape Canaveral, Florida on 10th February 2020.

SolarBlack is a CoBlast Skin of black calcium phosphate, which has been applied to the outermost titanium sheet of Solar Orbiter’s multi-layered

Solar Orbiter spacecraft will study the Sun at unprecedented close

heatshield. It has been deployed via ENBIO’s CoBlast process, which

proximity – approximately 42 million kilometers, which is a quarter the

replaces, in one process step, a metal’s natural oxide surface layer

distance from the star to Earth. Such an extreme temperature and

with a desired functional Skin – in this case SolarBlack. What makes

radiation environment, required the Agency to seek and qualify suitable

CoBlast unique is the direct bond produced between the desired Skin

next-generation thermal protection systems for the craft’s 3.1m x 2.4m

and the underlying metal, without a troublesome oxide layer, providing

main heatshield.

the durability and adhesion required for skin integrity under such

To provide such a system, ENBIO has been collaborating with ESA and

extreme conditions. CoBlast is also an environmentally friendly process,

Airbus Defence & Space since 2011, to develop a novel protective

requiring no chemical, vacuum or thermal inputs. SolarBlack has been

CoBlast Skin, called SolarBlack. It is critical that the Skin maintains its

qualified to meet the demands of this mission and is being specified on

thermo-optical properties, despite years of exposure to extreme

an increasingly wide variety of additional applications including sensor

infra-red and ultraviolet radiation, whilst not shedding material or

internals and heatshields.

outgassing vapour, which would risk contaminating Solar Orbiter’s highly sensitive instruments. Additionally, the Skin needs to be conductive to avoid the build-up of static charge which might threaten a disruptive or

50

N.33 - 2020 APRIL - ipcm® Protective Coatings

For further information: http://enbio.eu/coblast/


Turn static files into dynamic content formats.

Create a flipbook
Issuu converts static files into: digital portfolios, online yearbooks, online catalogs, digital photo albums and more. Sign up and create your flipbook.