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In support of the SPRITE concept, an integrated data acquisition system has been developed and fabricated for preliminary testing. The data acquisition system has been designed to condition traditional thermal protection system sensors, store their data to an on-board memory card, and in parallel, telemeter to an external system. In the fall of 2010, this system was integrated into a 14 in. diameter, 45 degree sphere cone probe instrumented with thermal protection system sensors. This system was then tested at the NASA Ames Research Center Aerodynamic Heating Facility's arc jet at approximately 170 W/sq. cm. The first test in December 2010 highlighted hardware design issues that were redesigned and implemented leading to a successful test in February 2011.

Small Probe Reentry Investigation for TPS Engineering (SPRITE) is a novel concept for a comparatively low-cost means of certifying thermal protection system (TPS) materials for spaceflight. By developing a fully instrumented small-scale test platform that can be tested both in arc-jet facilities and in flight, SPRITE promises to improve the ground-to-flight traceability of TPS qualification programs by implementing the NASA “test-like-you-fly” policy. This paper discusses the design and manufacture of the proof-of-concept SPRITE test articles, development and capabilities of the SPRITE flight-like data acquisition system, and fidelity of the design tools used in the effort. With the successful completion of this stage of the SPRITE project, the next test article to be built will have a hemispherical backshell as originally designed for flight stability. Unlike the initial proof-of-concept probes, TPS for the next test article will be scaled according to current margins policies for arc-jet testing at relevant flight-like aerothermal environments. At the conclusion of the ground test campaign, SPRITE probes will be ready for flight testing and, ultimately, acceptance into future mission planning where they will contribute to more affordable access to space for both large and small science payloads.