--- title: "Elon Musk Shows Off Glowing Hot “Hex Tile” Starship Heatshield" description: "In a video, SpaceX CEO Elon Musk showed off the space company's Starship's \"heat shield hex tiles\" which could keep its spacecraft cool during re-entry." date: "2019-03-18" modified: "2019-03-18" authors: - name: "Victor Tangermann" job_title: "Senior Editor" link: "https://futurism.com/authors/victor" url: "https://futurism.com/the-byte/elon-musk-spacex-starship-hex-tiles" categories: - "Elon Musk" - "Future Society" - "Space" - "SpaceX" - "Starship" - "The Industrialists" tags: - "elon musk" - "SpaceX" - "Starship" - "the digest" --- # Elon Musk Shows Off Glowing Hot “Hex Tile” Starship Heatshield ![In a video, SpaceX CEO Elon Musk showed off the space company's Starship's "heat shield hex tiles" which could keep its spacecraft cool during re-entry.]() *\Image: Elon Musk/Twitter\* ## Hex Tiles In a video posted on Twitter yesterday, SpaceX CEO Elon Musk showed off the newest feature of the company's much-anticipated Starship spacecraft: "heatshield hex tiles" that will keep it cool during re-entry into Earth's atmosphere. In the video, SpaceX engineers heated the hexagonal tiles to a maximum temperature of 1,650 degrees Kelvin (2,500 Fahrenheit.) According to Musk, that's "orbital entry temp," meaning it could technically survive the heat generated during re-entry — glowing a malevolent red that reminds you of the incredibly hostile forces of reentry. https://twitter.com/elonmusk/status/1107378575924035584 ## Transpiration Cooling The tiles will only be cladding the hotter side that enters the atmosphere first — "no shield needed on leeward \[or back\] side," according to Musk. Any "hot spots" will feature a ["transpiration cooling"]() system, which allows the exterior to sweat water or methane to minimize damage and fly again soon after landing. "Starship needs to be ready to fly again immediately after landing," Musk promised in a [follow-up tweet]() yesterday. "Zero refurbishment." ## Starship Hopper The news comes after pictures posted on social media revealed that SpaceX is planning to conduct [testing of an early Starship prototype]() "hopper" at its Boca Chica Beach test site in Texas "as soon as the week of March 18." https://twitter.com/austinbarnard45/status/1107055224265551872 Back in December, Musk [tweeted a picture]() of Starship's stainless steel nose cone, but powerful hurricane-force winds later caused the rocket to break free of its mooring blocks at SpaceX's Texas test site, [toppling it over](). Most of the rest of the spacecraft is clad in stainless steel. In a January [interview with *Popular Mechanics*](), Musk argued that the stainless steel won't become brittle even at extremely low and extremely high temperatures. **READ MORE:** [SpaceX tests heat shields that will stop its Starship from burning up]() **More on Starship: *[Elon Musk: SpaceX Hopes to Launch Starship “Test Hopper” This Week]()*** ## Author I've been at Futurism since 2017, where my role has evolved to encompass design, writing, and increasingly editing. I've always been fascinated by space exploration and advanced transportation, which I've leaned into by interviewing luminaries in those fields while closely following the dimensions of policy and regulation that allow next-generation projects to succeed -- or, sometimes, to fail. I'm also keenly interested in the effects of generative AI on society, policies, and democratic institutions, as well as clean energy, physics and biology, and the vagaries of tech leadership. My work for Futurism has been cited by publications including Ars Technica, Gizmodo, PC Magazine, Jalopnik, Fox News, and the New York Post. I spent my childhood living in locations including Manila, the Philippines, and Geneva, Switzerland, attended McGill University, and now live in Toronto, Canada. Before Futurism I worked at AskMen and a small photography studio. In my free time, I'm an avid gardener, foodie, and craft beer lover, as well as a maker of artisanal hot pepper sauces. I have a magnificent dog named Freida. ### Author social links [Bluesky]()