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
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Orion’s heat shield — which is a special coating applied to the bottom of the spacecraft that protects the astronauts from extreme heat as the spacecraft hurtles back toward Earth — will also be put to the ultimate test.
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Jackie Wattles, CNN Money, 31 Dec. 2025
Standard heat shields are mostly designed to erode and burn away during re-entry.
—Mrigakshi Dixit, Interesting Engineering, 31 Dec. 2025
Most of Juice’s data won’t arrive on Earth until February because the spacecraft is using its main antenna as a heat shield to protect it from the sun during its long journey to Jupiter.
—Cnn.com Wire Service, Mercury News, 17 Dec. 2025
The spacecraft is currently using its main high-gain antenna as a heat shield to protect itself from the sun, according to an ESA statement.
—Sharmila Kuthunur, Space.com, 11 Dec. 2025
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Jackie Wattles, CNN Money, 31 Dec. 2025
Standard heat shields are mostly designed to erode and burn away during re-entry.
—Mrigakshi Dixit, Interesting Engineering, 31 Dec. 2025
Most of Juice’s data won’t arrive on Earth until February because the spacecraft is using its main antenna as a heat shield to protect it from the sun during its long journey to Jupiter.
—Cnn.com Wire Service, Mercury News, 17 Dec. 2025
The spacecraft is currently using its main high-gain antenna as a heat shield to protect itself from the sun, according to an ESA statement.
—Sharmila Kuthunur, Space.com, 11 Dec. 2025
See All Example Sentences for heat shield
Cite this Entry
“Heat shield.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/heat%20shield. Accessed 13 Jan. 2026.
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