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
Orion’s heat shield, by contrast, is made up of just under 200 large tiles of Avcoat.
—
Claire Cameron, Scientific American, 3 Feb. 2026
Wang Heng/Xinhua/Getty Images Mengzhou is billed as reusable, with an outer heat shield that can be replaced after flight.
—IEEE Spectrum, 2 Feb. 2026
The two former astronauts and heat shield experts — Olivas and Camarda — do not share the same opinion about whether NASA should launch the Artemis II mission with crew on board.
—Jackie Wattles, CNN Money, 23 Jan. 2026
The Orion service module, which contains the engines, propellant, water and experiments, will then separate from the crew module, exposing the capsule’s heat shield, which will protect the crew from the extreme temperature of re-entry.
—Matthew Glasser, ABC News, 20 Jan. 2026
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.
Claire Cameron, Scientific American, 3 Feb. 2026
Wang Heng/Xinhua/Getty Images Mengzhou is billed as reusable, with an outer heat shield that can be replaced after flight.
—IEEE Spectrum, 2 Feb. 2026
The two former astronauts and heat shield experts — Olivas and Camarda — do not share the same opinion about whether NASA should launch the Artemis II mission with crew on board.
—Jackie Wattles, CNN Money, 23 Jan. 2026
The Orion service module, which contains the engines, propellant, water and experiments, will then separate from the crew module, exposing the capsule’s heat shield, which will protect the crew from the extreme temperature of re-entry.
—Matthew Glasser, ABC News, 20 Jan. 2026
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 Feb. 2026.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
