SpaceX launch 1st August 2025 with new crew for the International Space Station. Credit: YONHAP
Launchers
The first – and biggest – initial challenge for any space programme is overcoming Earth’s gravity during launch.
Every potential area for saving weight while maintaining durability and structural integrity in extreme temperatures has to be considered. This is why cork with its unique honeycomb structure made up of up to 40 million cells in every cubic centimetre makes an ideal base for TPS (Thermal Protection System) composite materials in the latest rocket launches.

Credit: Korea Aerospace Research Institute (KARI)
In May 2023 South Korea successfully launched its own domestically produced space vehicle NURI and placed several non- military satellites into orbit. The next launch by South Korea is scheduled for November 2025.
A Key requirement for this mission was the need for a TPS (thermal protection system) that could resist extreme temperatures during ascent and re-entry, reduce overall vehicle weight without compromising performance and contribute to the sustainability of materials used in aerospace. Amorim Cork Solutions provided its P50 cork-based thermal protection system meeting all these requirements.

Credit: Composites World
Composites can also offer design flexibility that is unparalleled by metals. Traditional materials like aluminium and titanium, although relatively strong, are much heavier compared with modern composites.
Carbon fibre-reinforced polymers (CFRPs), for example, have become a preferred choice for reducing spacecraft weight and enabling higher payloads and/or reduced fuel consumption and engineers can mould these cork-based composites into complex shapes and structures that are not only lightweight but also aerodynamically efficient.

Credit: Amorim Cork Solutions / Amorim TPS
TPS cork composite materials are regularly applied on SRB (solid rocket boosters) engine skirting, nose cone, frustum, forward and aft skirt, external tank, ring covers, antennae and many other instruments such as antennae and solar panels, which require intricate configurations to optimise performance.
Ablative* thermal protection – another of cork’s many properties
*Ablation (Latin: ablatio – removal) is the removal or destruction of something from an object by vaporisation, chipping, erosive processes, or by other means.

Credit: Heylen Polo / Hemera Space (via LinkedIn)
As spacecraft hurtle back towards a planet’s surface, they encounter extreme thermal environments with temperatures reaching thousands of degrees Celsius. Cork’s unique properties allow it to withstand these high temperatures. It can act as an ablative material, meaning it absorbs heat by charring and eroding, thus protecting the underlying structure.
As the cork heats up, it decomposes and forms a char layer. This layer acts as an insulator, slowing down the heat transfer to the spacecraft’s interior.
Reusable space launch vehicles
SpaceX Booster 12 returns to launch pad October 2024. Credit: Reuters
“As the booster came back through the atmosphere, the engine section started to glow due to the aerodynamic forces causing heat to build up on the cork of the engine shielding. Once at 1 km or so, the 13 centre engines started up and performed the initial landing burn to bleed off most of the velocity.” – nasaspaceflight.com/2024/10/spacex-aces-flight-5-flight-6
Natural, renewable, and recyclable: cork is shaping the future of space technology.
#SpaceTech #CorkInSpace #ThermalProtection #CompositeMaterials