Heat Shield Paves the Way for Commercial Space

Abstract

The Phenolic-Impregnated Carbon Ablator (PICA) heat shield, a lightweight material designed to withstand high temperatures, was used for the Stardusts reentry into Earths atmosphere. Hawthorne, California-based SpaceX later worked with the inventors at Ames Research Center to outfit PICA on its Dragon capsule, which is now delivering cargo to and from the International Space Station through NASAs Commercial Resupply Services contracts program