SpaceX’s experimental test of metallic heat shield tiles for the Starship vehicle ended in failure, with the tiles degrading rapidly under extreme thermal stress. The setback exposes a significant ...

Two years ago next week, NASA’s Orion spacecraft splashed down in the Pacific Ocean to wrap up what, at first glance, seemed to be a highly successful unpiloted test flight that made a return to the ...

Atomically thin materials developed by Stanford University researchers could create heat-shields for cell phones or laptops that would protect people and temperature-sensitive components, in addition ...

As bigger probes get sent into space, the problem of how to slow them down again is getting harder For months on end, the samples kept melting. This wasn’t exactly surprising—the cork-filled ...

Flying at hypersonic speeds — defined as Mach 5 and above — is likely the toughest environment to engineer materials for. At these speeds, temperatures can reach beyond (1,727° C), straining even the ...

An inflatable heat shield developed by NASA’s Space Technology Program has survived moving through Earth’s atmosphere while travelling at speeds up to 7,600mph. The Inflatable Re-entry Vehicle ...

NASA has undertaken the first flight test of its new carbon fabric foldable heat shield, a technology that could enable more expansive interplanetary missions. Known as ADEPT ( Adaptable Deployable ...