Utilization of ADS-B technology is mission enabling for small return vehicles in terms of cost reduction and operational flexibility. In the case of a small Earth return vehicle, GPS location and velocity transmission via ADS-B may eliminate reliance on ground-based radar tracking of the reentering vehicle, thus significantly reducing mission support costs and enabling recovery in areas without ground assets, including mid-air retrieval over open water. The Iridium global satellite network offers a low-cost transmission channel for location and telemetry data during Earth entry, descent, and landing. For reentries where the ground track passes over remote areas, Iridium could serve as a secondary location identifier to ADS-B. In order to transmit radio frequency (RF) communications from within a reentry vehicle, the heat shield materials must be RF transparent. RF transparent heat shield materials also offer the advantage of allowing for transmission without deploying an antenna.

A new formulation of Silica-based conformable TPS materials have been developed at NASA Ames that are attractive for small reentry vehicle applications due to low manufacturing cost. As part of the proposed technology demonstration, TVA will demonstrate communication through these new heat shield materials, both on the ground and during suborbital flight test.

The communications technologies and low-cost components of the STV are applicable to nearly any small Earth return vehicle. Such a vehicle could be employed for small payload return from ISS or other orbiting facility, upper atmosphere testing, or serve in itself as a TPS and electronics test platform. Space-capable ADS-B is also applicable to larger orbital reentry vehicles including crewed capsules.