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2017

Application of frp products in spacecraft

The phenomenon that glass fiber reinforced plastic products are damaged due to gasification and decomposition when heated is called ablation. Due to ablation, various cooling and heat insulation effects as described above are called ablation cooling effects. All materials that absorb more heat in the ablation process have good ablation cooling effect. Such materials ablation process is very slow, which is called ablation resistant materials. Phenolic FRP products are a kind of good ablation resistant materials. When making the outer shell of a spaceship with this material, the outer shell should be designed to be thicker. When the spacecraft passes through the atmosphere, the outermost material is ablated, and the cooling and thermal insulation effect caused by ablation can protect the inner layer that is not ablated. In this way, the spacecraft can fly out of the atmosphere safely, while the personnel and instruments in the spacecraft are safe.
In addition to its good ablation resistance, fiberglass products are used in space navigation. Its high mechanical strength, small specific gravity, low coefficient of thermal expansion and easy to be made into various required shapes are also special needs in space navigation, especially small specific gravity. Because more fiberglass products can be used in space vehicles to greatly reduce the weight of space vehicles. In space navigation science, it is very meaningful to reduce the weight of spacecraft. Because even one kilogram of weight can be reduced on the spacecraft, the power consumption of the rocket used to launch it can be greatly reduced, so that the design of the entire spacecraft and launch rocket can be changed accordingly, so that the weight of hundreds of kilograms can be reduced. Therefore, we should strive to use lightweight materials that meet the technical requirements in space navigation. For example, honeycomb fiberglass products with high strength and good rigidity are often used in the outer shell and instrument base of space vehicles.
In addition to phenolic fiberglass products, other high-temperature resistant fibers are also used to replace glass fibers in space navigation technology to make better ablation resistant materials, such as asbestos fiber, quartz fiber, some synthetic fibers, carbon fiber and boron fiber. Of course, the composition of synthetic resin is not limited to phenolic resin. Many thermosetting or thermoplastic resins with better heat resistance are also increasingly used, such as silicone resin and polyphthalimide resin.
On the "MESSENGER - 1B" test satellite launched by foreign countries on October 4, 1960, the outer shell is composed of two glass fiber reinforced plastic hemispheres. This satellite has an octahedral framework welded with aluminum, and three honeycomb fiberglass products are connected to the framework as a platform, on which the electronic instruments are installed. The fiberglass shell is also connected with the rocket launching satellite by fiberglass flange. The synthetic resin on the surface layer of the satellite shell is added with Qin * * *, so that the surface of the shell becomes a white reflecting layer, which can reflect a part of strong light or other radiation, thus helping to create a more suitable environment inside the satellite. There are also many examples of using fiberglass products as shells on spacecraft. For example, spacecraft such as Mercury and Apollo launched by the United States in the early stage use phenolic fiberglass products or asbestos fiber reinforced phenolic plastics as thermal insulation.
The rockets used to send satellites or spacecraft into space are also widely made of fiberglass products or other reinforced plastics. For example, the United States began to launch satellites with fiberglass products rockets in 1966. In 1970 alone, nearly 100 satellites were launched with fiberglass products rockets, such as Pioneer, Europe, earth observation satellites and international television communication satellites. At present, the glass fiber reinforced plastic products such as satellites, spacecraft and rockets are manufactured by winding and molding methods.
In addition to being used as ablative and thermal insulation materials for the shell and nozzle, many fiberglass products and reinforced plastics are also used in other aspects of spacecraft, artificial satellites and launch rockets. For example, the bases of various electronic equipment on satellites and spacecraft, equipment protective covers, instrument panels, floors, transparent windows, sealing pads, and even the spacesuits worn by astronauts are made of fiberglass products.