Were the heat shields intended to act this way?

[GeneCash]

The heatshield is a bit heavy isn't it? The Mk1 capsule is 0.84t and the 1.25m heat shield is 0.3t, which is more than 1/3rd of the capsule. Seems a bit excessive?

For Apollo, the CM was 12,250lb with the heat shield 1,870lb of that, according to [url]https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Apollo_Command/Service_Module[/url]

[ExtremeSquared]

Tweak the heat shield ablator down a bit. Unused ablator is unnecessary craft density and higher terminal velocity. I usually tweak it to 25-50%. Any re-entry that uses over 50% ablator has proven utterly suicidal anyway.

[Octa]

[quote name='ExtremeSquared']Tweak the heat shield ablator down a bit. Unused ablator is unnecessary craft density and higher terminal velocity. I usually tweak it to 25-50%. Any re-entry that uses over 50% ablator has proven utterly suicidal anyway.[/QUOTE]


I rarely ablate 15 of 200 units of the heatshield :confused: The amount of ablator is totally overkill for capsule re-entries. May be different for return vehicles or other bodies like Eve.

[ExtremeSquared]

[quote name='Octa']I rarely ablate 15 of 200 units of the heatshield :confused: The amount of ablator is totally overkill for capsule re-entries. May be different for return vehicles or other bodies like Eve.[/QUOTE]

That's probably a half ton of pointless mass then. Bring down the mass by tweaking ablator, the ship density will go down, and you'll use even less ablator aerobraking. Energy to dissipate is proportional to m * v²

[Octa]

[quote name='ExtremeSquared']That's probably a half ton of pointless mass then. Bring down the mass by tweaking ablator, the ship density will go down, and you'll use even less ablator aerobraking. Energy to dissipate is proportional to m * v²[/QUOTE]

I know how tweakables work and i already do it, but still thanks :wink: I just keep wondering why the shield carries that much ablator by default in the first place, or if there are situations where you really need 200 units of it.

[Superfluous J]

[quote name='Octa']I know how tweakables work and i already do it, but still thanks :wink: I just keep wondering why the shield carries that much ablator by default in the first place, or if there are situations where you really need 200 units of it.[/QUOTE]

For the same reason that every command pod carries a full tank of monoprop even though I never use it.

[More Boosters]

[quote name='5thHorseman']For the same reason that every command pod carries a full tank of monoprop even though I never use it.[/QUOTE]

Empty should be the default as with the fat wings.

[tseitsei]

[quote name='Octa']I know how tweakables work and i already do it, but still thanks :wink: I just keep wondering why the shield carries that much ablator by default in the first place, or if there are situations where you really need 200 units of it.[/QUOTE]

I haven't tested yet but probably interplanetary aerocapturing and/or eve reentry need more ablator

[NathanKell]

Yep. That.

Eve Aero capture at high speed uses all and more.

[Ulfstein]

If you put the heat shield on the nose instead of below the mk1 capsule, it along with the cone after it creates enough drag to produce aerial braking, but if you put it on the bottom of capsule or stack, it just plummets like a rock.

[BenCushwa]

[quote name='Aser']I came back to KSP for the new update (haven't played since 1.0 hit), and I've noticed that the heat shields do not behave themselves any more. I first noticed it on returning from my first orbit in a new career. I always try to return pretty gently (~75k ap and ~50k per). Everything seemed pretty normal until i reached around 20k. I'm blazing towards the ground and it seems like I'm coming in way too hot. Maybe I'll start slowing down? Nope. Ended up pulling my chutes at 1000m going 350m/s. Of course they ripped off and I slammed into the ground, killing Jeb.

...

Is this an intended behavior, or is this a bug?[/QUOTE]

That approach is likely way too shallow now. 1.0.5 changed the properties of the atmosphere so re-entry tactics had to change too. It's not just enough to have enough of a heat shield, you now need sufficient drag to slow you down or else you'll burn up in the atmosphere or land too hard for chutes to save you.

This is not a bug from what I've read.