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Spinoff story
Heat Shield Paves the Way for Commercial Space
A real-world story of NASA technology finding a life beyond the mission.
About this technology
Overview
The Phenolic-Impregnated Carbon Ablator (PICA) heat shield, a lightweight material designed to withstand high temperatures, was used for the Stardust reentry into Earth 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 NASA Commercial Resupply Services contracts program.