heat shield
noun
: a barrier of ablative material to protect a space capsule from heat on its entry into an atmosphere
Examples of heat shield in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
The largest heat shield ever made for a crewed spacecraft, it's made of an epoxy novolac resin, called Avcoat, with special additives set in a fiberglass honeycomb matrix.
—
David Szondy, New Atlas, 6 Dec. 2024
The Parker Solar Probe in a clean room in Titusville, Fla., in 2018, after the installation of its heat shield.
—Denise Chow, NBC News, 1 Dec. 2024
The other effort related to engine reuse is the development of an inflatable heat shield, with the help of NASA, to protect the Vulcan booster engines during reentry back into the atmosphere.
—Stephen Clark, Ars Technica, 27 June 2024
One problem that Starship encountered during its fourth test flight in June, Musk added, was the loss of heat shield tiles — or thousands of small, black hexagons affixed to the spacecraft’s exterior that are meant to shield the vehicle from extreme temperatures during reentry.
—Jackie Wattles, CNN, 13 Oct. 2024
See all Example Sentences for heat shield 
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
show current usage.
Read More
Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors.
Send us feedback.
David Szondy, New Atlas, 6 Dec. 2024
The Parker Solar Probe in a clean room in Titusville, Fla., in 2018, after the installation of its heat shield.
—Denise Chow, NBC News, 1 Dec. 2024
The other effort related to engine reuse is the development of an inflatable heat shield, with the help of NASA, to protect the Vulcan booster engines during reentry back into the atmosphere.
—Stephen Clark, Ars Technica, 27 June 2024
One problem that Starship encountered during its fourth test flight in June, Musk added, was the loss of heat shield tiles — or thousands of small, black hexagons affixed to the spacecraft’s exterior that are meant to shield the vehicle from extreme temperatures during reentry.
—Jackie Wattles, CNN, 13 Oct. 2024
See all Example Sentences for heat shield
Articles Related to heat shield
Dictionary Entries Near heat shield
Cite this Entry
“Heat shield.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/heat%20shield. Accessed 21 Dec. 2024.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share