N-238 IHF (Interactive heating Facility) re-build

N-238 IHF (Interactive heating Facility) re-build

Engineering technicians Pedro Solano, left, and Aaron Poulin, right, verify alignment of an Orion heat shield test article in the Arc Jet Interaction Heating Facility, or IHF, test section. This test of Orion’s heat shield using a combination of the IHF and the Laser Enhanced Arc Jet Facility, or LEAF-Lite, capabilities will certify the heat shield for the Artemis I and Artemis II missions. This is also the first time the heat shield is tested in an environment combining the two forms of heating, radiant and convective, the spacecraft will experience on entering Earth’s atmosphere.

Next Generation Thermal Protection Materials testing: Interactive Heating Facility IHF-148

NEXT GENERATION THERMAL PROTECTION MATERIALS TESTING IN INTERACTIVE HEATING FACILITY; IHF-148 Run 002 West Panel

NASA astronaut Christina Koch exits the vacuum test chamber for the Interaction Heating Facility (IHF) of the Ames Arc Jet Complex, N238, following Victor J. Glover, left. During a test, a TPS test sample is suspended in the hypersonic flow produced by IHF’s arc heater. The shock heating produced by the interaction between the hypersonic flow and the stationary test sample simulates the heating and other forces the spacecraft will encounter during atmospheric hypersonic entry.

RCC (Reinforced Carbon-Carbon) Johnson Space Center model testing in Ames interactive Heating Facility IHF-127 (data run 27)

NEXT GENERATION THERMAL PROTECTION MATERIALS TESTING IN INTERACTIVE HEATING FACILITY; IHF-148 Run 002: Rack 002 West Panel: 2.5D CC W/RTVIC (b) 12/2/03 pre- test

Space Shuttle tile test in 60MW Interaction Heating Facility N-238 (used in NASA/AMES publication 'Searching the Horizon' - A History of Ames Research Center SP-4304)

Amelia Kinsella, left, meets NASA astronauts Christina Koch and Victor J. Glover in the Ames Arc Jet control room for the Interaction Heating Facility (IHF), N238, where operators run the Arc Jet and review test data in real time.

Thermophysics Facilities Branch Chief George Raiche, left, Orion Deputy Program Manager Debbie Korth, NASA astronauts Victor J. Glover, Christina Koch, Kristina A. Skokova, Parul Agrawal, Luis Saucedo, and Scott Eddlemon watch a video presentation in the Ames Arc Jet control room for the Interaction Heating Facility (IHF), N238.