Heat protection tiles

[sol_invictus]

I think it would be really nice to have some sort of tiles to protect our ships against reentry heating, they could be about the size of the OX-STAT Photovoltaic Panels, and would protect against reentry heating.

Such a thing would be usefull for Space Shuttles ( The real space shuttle actually used tiles to survive reentry ) and generals surfaces which are exposed to reentry heating but can't be effectively protected by the ingames round reentry shields.

[SpaceChipmunk]

Problem I can see with that is everything would end up looking like an F117. All angular. The parts themselves would be better off with the heat resistance built in, but then it would negate another very good addition to the game. Besides it is not too hard to survive re-entry with a spaceplane currently.

[Murph]

Ugh, part count!!!!

Not needed anyway, you just have to learn how to scrub off a little speed above the great balls of fire zone, then use the aerodynamics to significantly cut your descent rate (i.e. pull up hard, severe angle of attack) when the air starts to grip for real, which really isn't at all difficult to do.

[Guest]

Agree with OP. And all tiles should be custom designed for their places. All 30000 of them.

[r4pt0r]

I think what would be cool is something like the Kerbpaint mod, but we could "paint" the just the bottom of our craft with tiles. I have no idea how that would work but it(in theory) wouldnt add to part count.

[Wallygator]

I think what would be cool is something like the Kerbpaint mod, but we could "paint" the just the bottom of our craft with tiles. I have no idea how that would work but it(in theory) wouldnt add to part count.

^ This. Excellent idea. o7

[Eric S]

I think what would be cool is something like the Kerbpaint mod, but we could "paint" the just the bottom of our craft with tiles. I have no idea how that would work but it(in theory) wouldnt add to part count.

Probably done best as a tweakable, though that may not be as configurable as some people want. Either an on/off tweakable or a slider, adds mass and cost and switches textures, but improves the ability of the part to deal with heat. Not sure which parameters to tweak, I haven't played around with the new heat system beyond figuring out what works for reentry, so I don't know if just bumping up the heat limit of the part would produce reasonable results.

[Capt. Hunt]

I wouldn't mind curved tiles, sized to fit each diameter, that you could place to protect critical areas, I'm not thinking of wide coverage for reentry so much as point coverage to protect the rocket from the thrust of sepatrons firing from jettisoning boosters. I've had several rockets CATO due to severe overheating caused by sepatrons. Usually it means I have to find angles where the rocket motors still have enough oomph to push the booster away but aren't pointing at the core of the rocket, but real rockets use patches of ablative material around the exhaust of verniers, retro rockets and the like to protect the rest of the rocket from the burn.

Edited May 21, 2015 by Capt. Hunt

[Wjolcz]

I think what would be cool is something like the Kerbpaint mod, but we could "paint" the just the bottom of our craft with tiles. I have no idea how that would work but it(in theory) wouldnt add to part count.

This.

[Screeno]

spaceplane reentry is easy, you don't even need airbrakes, all you gotta do is maintain a 30-40 ish degree angle off attack, and by the time you're near the "death zone" you'll be at a safe sped and you can fly normally.

[waterlubber]

IIRC, the original SP+ mod had togglable reentry panelling. Simply add .1 tons to a fuel tank or wing, and then poof! You have a heat shield