‘It’s reckless’: Ex-NASA staff raise alarm about Artemis II re-entry

by · Australian Financial Review

Kenneth Chang
Apr 10, 2026 – 10.09am

The Artemis II heat shield, NASA agrees, is flawed.

The heat shield is the critical layer at the bottom of a spacecraft that protects it – and the astronauts inside – from searing temperatures upon re-entering the Earth’s atmosphere. If the shield fails, the underlying metallic structure could melt, rupture and disintegrate.

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