7. Glossary

Catalycity; catalycity

Property of a surface of recombining or not recombining atoms, such as oxygen, to reform the molecule. This reaction is usually exothermic, releasing heat and transferring all or part of it to the surface of the material (a term used in the space industry).

Emissivity

In radiative transfer, emissivity corresponds to the radiative flux emitted by a surface element at a given temperature, relative to the reference value, which is the flux emitted by a black body at the same temperature.

IXV; Intermediate eXperimental Vehicle

This space vehicle is a demonstrator developed by the European Space Agency (ESA) which flew on February 11, 2015 to perform an atmospheric re-entry and was recovered in the ocean. The flight went perfectly and thermal protection...