LERG is now a supplier of choice for a team of students from The Technical University of Košice (TUKE) in their project to develop an advanced thermal protection system for spacecraft. The HARTS (Hybrid Atmospheric Re-entry Thermal Shielding) project sets out to build a solution for safer and more efficient re-entries of spacecraft into the Earth’s atmosphere.

The HARTS project team have already achieved outstanding successes. Two members of the team, Patrik Rychtarčík and Lukáš Hudáček, received a prestigious ArianeGroup Prize award for a concept design of an active cooling solution for entry system heat shields. The team’s outcomes to date give proof of their ability to transform bold ideas into real technological solutions.

What’s the role of our products?

The HARTS project uses selected materials offered by LERG:

– Resin K-2M in combination with hardener UK-2M as a binder in composite shield components made of carbon fibres,
– Epidian 659 + U1 – currently in testing phase of research into alternative material configurations.

The choice of these products results directly from their parameters – high thermal resistance, durability, stability and suitability for composite structures, which are key in the design of shields exposed to extreme conditions during atmospheric entry.

International background of the project

HARTS technology stands a chance for a positive reality check within the REXUS/BEXUS program’s launch campaign by the Swedish National Space Agency (SNSA) and the German Aerospace Centre (DLR), supported by the European Space Agency. In the program, student-made experimental designs can be tested in suborbital flights, that is, in conditions similar to real space missions.

Why is this important to us?

The presence of our materials in a space-related project is a source of pride for us and confirmation that LERG technologies actually work not only in demanding industrial applications, but also in research projects that determine the direction of development of future space systems.

We are following the team’s progress with interest, and supporting them as they enter the next stages of the program.