NASA's 'flawless' heat shield demo passes the test

A little more than a year ago, a NASA flight test article came screaming back from space at more than 18,000 mph, reaching temperatures of nearly 2,700°F before gently splashing down in the Pacific Ocean. At that moment, it became the largest blunt body—a type of reentry vehicle that creates a heat-deflecting shockwave—ever to reenter Earth's atmosphere.