#reentry-safety

#reentry-safety

Heat shields are crucial: when spacecraft reenter Earth's atmosphere, they heat up, burning through the sky like a shooting star. Without a protective layer, any living thing inside a returning spacecraft would be exposed to temperatures about half as hot as the surface of the sun, or 5,000 degrees Fahrenheit (2,760 degrees Celsius). In Orion's case, the heat shield is made of Avcoatthe same material that protected the Apollo capsules, with a key structural difference.

Specifically, NASA has spent years since its successful uncrewed Artemis 1 mission studying how the extreme temperatures during reentry into the Earth's atmosphere affect Orion's heat shield. The Orion capsule sustained major damage after making its return in 2022. It cracked and chipped as a result of the extreme conditions during reentry. Over two years after the mission concluded, NASA said it had identified the root cause,