--- title: "Starship’s Heat Shield Looks Like High Tech Armor" description: "Photos taken by Texas-based photographer and SpaceX enthusiast Austin Barnard show the space company's latest Starship prototype's new suit of armor." date: "2021-03-16" modified: "2021-03-17" authors: - name: "Victor Tangermann" job_title: "Senior Editor" link: "https://futurism.com/authors/victor" url: "https://futurism.com/the-byte/starships-heat-shield-looks-like-high-tech-armor" categories: - "Space" - "SpaceX" - "Starship" tags: - "elon musk" - "SpaceX" - "Starship" - "the digest" --- # Starship’s Heat Shield Looks Like High Tech Armor ![Photos taken by Texas-based photographer and SpaceX enthusiast Austin Barnard show the space company's latest Starship prototype's new suit of armor.]() *\Image: SpaceX\* ## Hex Tiles Shots by Texas-based photographer and SpaceX enthusiast Austin Barnard show the space company's latest Starship prototype from close enough to see its new suit of armor. The spacecraft's eventual heatshield will be composed of many "hex tiles," hexagonally shaped bits of ceramic shielding designed to dissipate the enormous amounts of heat generated during reentry into the Earth's atmosphere. https://twitter.com/austinbarnard45/status/1371510562409046018 ## Hot Ones A [video]() uploaded by SpaceX CEO Elon Musk shows various tiles being super heated using several torches. "White-hot parts reached orbital entry temp of around 1650 Kelvin," Musk commented in a [follow-up tweet]() at the time. The tiles are designed to cover the side facing the Earth as the massive vehicle makes its descent, belly first. "No shield needed on leeward \[or back\] side," Musk clarified back in 2019. A "transpiration cooling" system, meanwhile, will make sure Starship will be ready "to fly again immediately after landing," [according to the CEO](). SpaceX has been testing the tiles since at least the early scaled-down "Starhopper" prototypes in 2019, [according to *Teslarati*](). But the tiles themselves have likely gone through various iterations and changes since then. SpaceX has even figured out how to install the various tiles using [giant robotic arms]() last year. Any day now, the company is set to launch its latest full-scale prototype, called SN11, followed up by its [first orbital test flight]() some time this year, meaning Starship's heatshield will be more important than ever. It's still unclear when that will be, but we'll definitely be watching. **More on the tiles:** *[Elon Musk Shows Off Glowing Hot “Hex Tile” Starship Heatshield]()* ## 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]()