Fondu fyre

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Fondu Fyre, sometimes called Fondue Fyre, is a refractory concrete developed for specialist application. Fondu Fyre is a heat and erosion resistant concrete developed during the Apollo space program. It was developed to withstand the supersonic plume of a rocket engine during launch and hot-fire tests. [1]

Contents

Allied Mineral Products based in Ohio holds the registered trademark on the name Fondu Fyre. [2]

Uses

The concrete is used in 2 different mixtures called WA-1 and XB-1. The XB-1 is used as a more fire and erosion resistant layer for covering WA-1 in areas which are directly exposed to the exhaust flame of a rocket engine. The concrete is used on the launch pads of the Kennedy Space Center on the flame deflectors. [1]

Damage

Fondue Fyre was used to repair the damage done on May 31, 2008 to launchpad 39A during the launch of the Space Shuttle Discovery on mission STS-124. [3] After subsequent launch of Space Shuttle Atlantis for mission STS-125 on May 11, 2009 a 25 square metre section of the Fondue Fyre on pad 39A was found to have been damaged by exhaust from the Solid Rocket Booster.

References

  1. 1 2 Lays, E. (March 1966). Design Handbook for Protection of Launch* Complexes from Solid Propellant Exhaust (PDF) (Report). NASA. p. 26. Retrieved December 6, 2025.
  2. ↑ "Fondu Fyre". Trademark Electronic Search System (TESS). United States Patent and Trademark Office. Retrieved 17 October 2021.
  3. ↑ "NASA - Spray-on Layer to Protect Flame Trench". NASA. Retrieved 22 November 2022.
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