New part - Thermal Circulation System

[royying]

Spaceplanes need to handle heat when reentry, especially the leading part, but deploy a Thermal Control System radiator is not possible when reentry

So, I suggest a new part call Thermal Circulation System, it like the Thermal Control System but without radiator, the "pipe" circulate the heat to whole craft to avoid the head of the spaceplane overheat

And because it don't have radiator, it can be a inline part and not create extra drag.

[Stoney3K]

If spaceplanes are really blowing up on every re-entry, it may be better just to buff up the thermal tolerance on Mk2 and Mk3 hull pieces.

Adding a magic inline radiator part feels like a stop-gap measure. If it does *not* have a radiator, where does the heat go? Does it stay in the part until said part overheats and explodes?

[Adelaar]

The way heat is managed now means that some skill is required when de-orbiting SSTO's. This means that you'll have to be careful when de-orbiting, and place your PE on a manageble altitude, instead of aiming for the runway and hope for the best. Other than piloting skills, heat issues can also be a design issue, if you cannot create a lot of drag whilst de-orbiting you may not be able to shave off enough speed before entering lower parts of the atmosphere. I usually try to keep the angle of attack of the craft at +10 degrees pitch from current heading, that way the wings and body help aerobraking. So to conclude, heat management systems would be neat, but would perhaps make de-orbiting too easy...

[Nich]

Problem is craft explodes because skin temp reaches max.  Thermal control system would work off the parts internal temp which has no effect on the skin temp.  Skin temp is based off radiative flux coming in and out.