NASA Heat Shield Experts Warn Starship Shielding Could Be a 'Dead End'
A new expert analysis has bluntly questioned the viability of the SpaceX Starship program, particularly its ability to rapidly reset for "full" reuse. The culprit—Starship's heat shielding—has long been known to be a challenge for SpaceX, but it has never been explicitly called out for its potential to tank the idea entirely.
When a spacecraft reenters the atmosphere, it uses drag against the increasingly thick gas to do most of its deceleration, usually from dozens of times the speed of sound. This creates the classic fireball we all associate with spaceships, satellites, and meteors descending toward Earth.
This obviously generates a great deal of heat and quickly burns away most materials that could be used to build a spaceship. NASA's classic answer has been to plate spacecraft slated for reentry with small, specialized ceramic tiles that can withstand extreme temperatures and be cut and arranged to cover any surface shape.
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