NASA Developing New Heat Shield for Orion

NASA Developing New Heat Shield for Orion. The new spaceship of the future must endure searing temperatures capable of melting iron, steel or chromium as the spacecraft streaks into the Earth's atmosphere on the way back from the moon. Faster than the fastest bullet, the spaceship – called the Orion – will enter Earth's atmosphere at 6.8 miles (11 kilometers) per second, generating surface temperatures equivalent to more than 4,800 degrees Fahrenheit (2,649 degrees Celsius.)

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