re: Delicate heatshield?
Re: The ablator used on MER and Pathfinder was SLA-561V. SLA-561V doesn't start to ablate until the heat flux gets to 80 watts/cm^2. If the heat flux is below that value then the TPS acts purely as an insulator. The peak heating for the Space Shuttle was signficantly below 80 watts/cm^2
Doesn't this mean that SLA-561V would have been a real alternative for ceramic tiles? Are there other properties that would have made it unsuitable?
