Heat Shield (10m)

Heat Shield (10m)
Heat shield by O.M.B. Demolition Enterprises
Radial size		Large
Cost	(total)	2 400.00
Mass	(total)	1.500 t
Drag		0.1
Max. Temp.		3500 K
Impact Tolerance		9 m/s
Research		Heavy Landing
Unlock cost		6 400
Since version		1.1
Part configuration		HeatShield.cfg
Ejection momentum		100 Ns
Testing Environments
On the surface		Yes
In the ocean		Yes
On the launchpad		Yes
In the atmosphere		Yes
Sub-orbital		No
In an orbit		No
On an escape		No
Docked		No
Test by staging		No
Manually testable		Yes

The heat shield from several angles.

Unlike other heat shields, the Heat Shield (10m) uses a large inflated surface instead of ablator to slow down the spacecraft to which it is attached, while passing through an atmosphere.

When inflated, the shield has a diameter of 10m but is 2.5m in diameter in its uninflated state.

Once deployed, it can not be deflated.

Product description

“

Based on the design of a child's toy, this heat shield uses a set of inflatable rings covered with a thermal blanket to provide a generous 10-meter heat shield for reentry and deceleration and the aerodynamic qualities of an untethered bouncy castle. — O.M.B. Demolition Enterprises

”

Trivia

• A smaller-scale inflatable heat shield was successfully tested by NASA in 2009 [1], while a larger one is expected to be tested in 2022 [2].
• It appears to be able to float on Kerbin's water without flipping.

Changes

1.2

• Moved from Aero to Thermal
• Added ModuleLiftingSurface

1.1

• Initial release