And this: "[G]radual wearing away of the vehicle’s skin as it reached stress tolerance limits was expected. However, larger than anticipated portions of the vehicle’s skin peeled from the aerostructure."
The "gradual wearing of the vehicle's skin" is called is called ablation.
Its a standard way both hyper sonic and reentry vehicles manage heat. Basically the skin boils off creating a pressure wave that the vehicle flights behind.
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And this: "[G]radual wearing away of the vehicle’s skin as it reached stress tolerance limits was expected. However, larger than anticipated portions of the vehicle’s skin peeled from the aerostructure."
And, dated: April 20, 2012
The "gradual wearing of the vehicle's skin" is called is called ablation.
Its a standard way both hyper sonic and reentry vehicles manage heat. Basically the skin boils off creating a pressure wave that the vehicle flights behind.
Wikipedia has a good description of it. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Atmospheric_reentry#Ablative