Heat shield
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.
In version 1.1 the Heat Shield (10m) was added. This is the game's first inflatable heat shield. The part begins as a 2.5m component that inflates into a 10m diameter heat shield with a maximum temperature of 3,500 Kelvin.
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 | — |
