Heat shield
From Kerbal Space Program Wiki
A heat shield is a part which protects shielded parts from overheating. All heat shields work as ablative heat shields. This means each has a certain amount of ablative material, ablator, which slowly breaks apart carrying heat away. All of the heat shields currently in the game have a maximum temperature of 3,400 Kelvin and an impact tolerance of 9 m/s. As a rule of thumb, it is recommended to use them on capsules which are expected to return from 55 km or higher.
Note that these can not only be used for atmospheric reentry, but also to separate a heat-sensitive stack from a heat-generating stage like an engine cluster.
All three resemble the heat shield of the Orion MPCV.
| Image | Part | Radial size | Cost (  ) |
Mass (t) |
Max. Temp. (K) |
Tolerance (m/s) |
Tolerance (g) |
Ablator |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 |
Heat Shield (0.625m) | Tiny | 150 (125) |
0.075 (0.025) |
3 300 | 9 | 50 | 50 |
| |
Heat Shield (1.25m) | Small | 300 (200) |
0.3 (0.1) |
3 300 | 9 | 50 | 200 |
 |
Heat Shield (2.5m) | Large | 600 (200) |
1.3 (0.5) |
3 300 | 9 | 50 | 800 |
 |
Heat Shield (3.75m) | Extra large | 1100 (200) |
2.8 (1.0) |
3 300 | 9 | 50 | 1 800 |
.png) |
Heat Shield (10m) | Large / 10m | 2 400 | 1.5 | 3 500 (3 250) |
9 | 50 | — |
