A thermal protection system (TPM) for protecting a surface subject to high thermal
load comprising a fiber substrate where the substrate is composed of woven or non-woven
layers of fibers laminated together, or the substrate is formed by a process of
three-dimensional weaving, wherein the fiber substrate has a variable density of
fibers, with said density of fibers increasing across the thickness of the TPM,
and further wherein the substrate is needled and coupled to an insulation backing.