ablatorn.
/əˈbleɪtə/, U.S. /əˈbleɪdər/ΚΠ
a1832 J. Bentham Logical Arrangem. in Wks. (1838) IX. 294/2 Performed by the ablator himself, ablation is abdication.
2. Astronautics and Materials Science. A protective surface layer (e.g. in a rocket engine) made of a material which ablates readily when heated and so reduces the transfer of external heat to the underlying material.
ΘΚΠ
society > travel > air or space travel > a means of conveyance through the air > spacecraft > rocket > [noun] > types of rocket engine > outer layer designed to ablate
ablator1961
1961 J. N. Kotanchik & K. L. Wadlin in NASA Techn. Rep. 1 Jan. (title) The use of ablators for achieving protection against high thermal flux.
1970 N. Armstrong et al. First on Moon xiii. 307 Thirty-four pounds had been trimmed from the engine's weight by replacing the thrust chamber's asbestos lining with a light, glass-reinforced ablator.
1983 Aviation Week & Space Technol. 5 Dec. 22/3 The carbon phenolic ablator in the throat of one of the Mission 8 boosters was within 9 sec. of burning through.
2006 Wired Nov. 65/1 The ultimate insulator must be light, strong, and..able to withstand trial by fire. In September, a material called PICA—short for phenolic impregnated carbon ablator—emerged (still smoking) as the front-runner.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, September 2009; most recently modified version published online December 2021).
<
n.a1832