Heat Shield (10m)

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Heat Shield (10m)
Part image
Heat shield by
O.M.B. Demolition Enterprises

Radial size Large
Cost (total) 2 400.00 Funds
Mass (total) 1.50 t
Drag 0.1
Max. Temp. 3500 K
Volume  ?
Impact Tolerance 9 m/s
Research Heavy landing.png Heavy Landing
Unlock cost 6 400 Funds
Since version 1.1
Part configuration HeatShield.cfg
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 (10m) is a large, inflatable heat shield used to protect parts from aerodynamic heating. Unlike other heat shields, the Heat Shield (10m) does not use ablator, instead relying only on its high temperature tolerance.

Before inflating, it has a radius of 2.5m. After inflating, it has a radius of 10m, as the name suggests.

Once inflated, it cannot be deflated. Like other heat shields, it can be jettisoned without the use of a decoupler.

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

The heat shield from several angles, as of its release in version 1.1.

Trivia

  • An inflatable heat shield demonstrator (IRDT) and a Fregat upper stage equipped with an inflatable heat shield were test flown in 2000 by a cooperation of NPO Lavochkin, ESA, DASA, and EU. The test was mostly successful. [1] [2]
  • A smaller-scale inflatable heat shield was successfully tested by NASA in 2009 [3], while a larger one (LOFTID) was tested in 2022 [4].
  • It appears to be able to float on Kerbin's water without flipping.
  • The heat shield is very draggy; this can be used to make aerobraking and aerocapture easier. However, it can also lead to aerodynamic instability. One way to fix this is to place a second Heat Shield (10m) on the back of the vessel, acting like a parachute or ballute.

Changes

1.2
  • Moved from Aero to Thermal
  • Added ModuleLiftingSurface
1.1
  • Initial release