HPS GmbH

Customer: ESA/ESTEC
	HPS has been contracted by ESA for investigations on re-entry flight sensors with focus on lightweight, high speed entries and ablator TPS applications.

HPS has been contracted by ESA for investigations on re-entry flight sensors with focus on lightweight, high speed entries and ablator TPS applications. In the first part of the activity a screening of available sensors and of alternative measurement techniques has been performed. Sensor for different measurement targets has been treated:

1. radiative and convective surface heat fluxes,
2. gas composition,
3. recession sensors and
4. RFID- and wireless-network-based sensors.

Main subcontractors are IRS (D) and HTG (D).

After the final trade-off the elected sensor was COMPARE (radiative and convective surface heat fluxes) from IRS. In addition HTG is analysing an ultra sonic recession sensor. The COMPARE sensor will be tested in a plasma wind tunnel facility at DLR-Cologne.