HEAT SHIELD

Pronunciation (US):

(GB):

IPA (US):

 Dictionary entry overview: What does heat shield mean? 

• HEAT SHIELD (noun)
  The noun HEAT SHIELD has 1 sense:

1. a protective covering that protects a spacecraft from overheating on reentry

  Familiarity information: HEAT SHIELD used as a noun is very rare.

 Dictionary entry details 

• HEAT SHIELD (noun)

Sense 1

Meaning:

A protective covering that protects a spacecraft from overheating on reentry

Classified under:

Nouns denoting man-made objects

Hypernyms ("heat shield" is a kind of...):

protection; protective cover; protective covering (a covering that is intend to protect from damage or injury)

Meronyms (parts of "heat shield"):

nose cone; ogive (front consisting of the conical head of a missile or rocket that protects the payload from heat during its passage through the atmosphere)

Holonyms ("heat shield" is a part of...):

ballistic capsule; space vehicle; spacecraft (a craft capable of traveling in outer space; technically, a satellite around the sun)

 Context examples 

Nearing Earth's atmosphere seven years from now, a capsule containing the sample and equipped with a heat shield will detach from the main OSIRIS-REx spacecraft and enter Earth's atmosphere.

(Evening Launch Catapults OSIRIS-REx Toward Asteroid Encounter, NASA)