That's by design, as it is one of the easiest solutions to absorbing the incredible amounts of energy they experience. However, it also results in long turn around times while these heat shields are repaired, and the shields themselves act as "dead weight" limiting payload capacity.
That's by design, as it is one of the easiest solutions to absorbing the incredible amounts of energy they experience.
However, it also results in long turn around times while these heat shields are repaired, and the shields themselves act as "dead weight" limiting payload capacity.
With the increased focus on reusable rockets, and the emphasis on payload capacity, engineers have been looking for alternative solutions to the reentry problem.
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That's by design, as it is one of the easiest solutions to absorbing the incredible amounts of energy they experience. However, it also results in long turn around times while these heat shields are repaired, and the shields themselves act as "dead weight" limiting payload capacity. With the increased focus on reusable rockets, and the emphasis on payload capacity, engineers have been looking for alternative solutions to the reentry problem.
Spacecraft famously have small bits of them disintegrate on reentry.
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