"c-bee1" wrote in message
news:_BXFe.212650$xm3.117288@attbi_s21...

wrote in message
oups.com...
Couldn't you design a metal skin to protect the tiles that would
evaporate during ascent and reduce the stress on the tiles?

You know certain metals evaporate at a certain temperature, you could
possibly control that so that the tiles are protected until reaching
the upper atmosphere?


Heck with that, spin up a carbon composite shell, latch it on between
tank
and hull, then go out and unlatch it on orbit. It wouldn't even have to
be
very sturdy.


Or better yet, double-hull the tank. In other words, add another thin
layer of either aluminum or carbon composite over the foam insulation to
prevent the foam from separating and flying off altogether. There would be
weight constraints, of course, but the foam by itself is obviously not
working.