PlasmaSonic System

Hypersonic Plasma Wind Tunnel. When flying at hypersonic speeds — exceeding five times the speed of sound — spacecraft are subjected to extreme aerodynamic heating, particularly at their leading edges. To withstand these conditions, advanced materials used as heat shield (or thermal barrier) are required, capable of resisting extreme temperatures, oxidation, shear stress, and severe thermal gradients. Their development relies on specialized ground- based facilities able to realistically reproduce atmospheric re-entry conditions, including spacecraft velocity, altitude and geometry, as well as atmospheric composition and associated heat flux. PlasmaSonic is a ground testing facility developed by Tekna for the characterization and development of heat shield materials. It reproduces the severe thermal and aerodynamic environments experienced by high-velocity objects and re-entry vehicles. During testing, samples are instrumented to precisely monitor key parameters such as enthalpy, gas velocity, and heat flux. Combined with validated numerical models, these measurements enable the extrapolation of material performance to full-scale spacecraft and flight profiles.