heat shield

American  

noun

Aerospace.

1. a coating or structure that surrounds part of the nose cone or other vulnerable surfaces of a spacecraft and, by heat absorption or ablation, protects them from excessive heating during reentry.

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heat shield British  

noun

1. a coating or barrier for shielding from excessive heat, such as that experienced by a spacecraft on re-entry into the earth's atmosphere

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heat shield Scientific  

1. A barrier that prevents a substance from absorbing heat energy from an outside source by absorbing and dissipating, or simply reflecting, that heat. Heat shields are commonly used to protect parts of a device from heat generated by its energy source, as in isolating the cabin of a car from its motor. Many spacecraft dissipate heat generated by friction with the atmosphere upon reentry using heat shields that melt and vaporize, dissipating the energy back into the atmosphere.

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Etymology

Origin of heat shield

First recorded in 1955–60

Example Sentences

A piece of insulating foam on Columbia's fuel tank broke loose during launch, damaging the heat shield with devastating results.

From BBC

It had no heat shield, so could not be used to re-enter the Earth's atmosphere.

From BBC

Kosmos 482's lander capsule was built to survive the extreme heat and pressure of Venus's atmosphere, meaning it had a robust heat shield and durable structure.

From BBC

It was built to survive the extreme heat and pressure of Venus's atmosphere, meaning it has a robust heat shield and durable structure.

From BBC

The delay is needed to fix an issue with the capsule's heat shield, which returned from the previous test flight excessively charred and eroded, with cracks and some fragments broken off.

From BBC