10 meter Heat Shield Blows up when jettisoning

[tkraftson]

Is this a bug? I had slowed to safe parachute speed and jettisoned the shield which then exploded and destroyed my ship. It deflated nicely while on the launch pad, but exploded in the descent. Are you supposed to leave it in place? What is the jettison for?

[VirgoCompany]

Was the shield in the ship's path at the time of jettison? Might've jettisoned off the craft, slowed down and hit the ship mid-flight.

[tkraftson]

It was the first few times I tried it, but the last time it was above the ship descending. I tried it four times.

[tkraftson]

I did another test and found that I can safely jettison if the ship is hanging by its parachutes and the shield is toward the bottom of the ship with no pressure on it.

[andylaugel]

The 10m heat shield has a large surface area, making it act like air brakes or an inferior parachute. When you release it, the same air resistance on a less massive object pushes it into your ship--explosively. You need to wait until your parachutes are fully deloyed (under 1,000m usually) before jettisoning it.

The jettison isn't necessary, but puts less strain on your parachutes. It might mean the difference between an explosive or safe landing.

[tkraftson]

Thanks for your explanation of what is going on. I can now expect to safely land on Eve!

[Ambitious Dreamsickle]

jetison after deploying chutes at safe altitude. the issue you are having is due to aerodrag causing damage to the craft on entry.

[tkraftson]

I ended up needing the 10 meter heat shield for a life boat to land on Explodium Sea.

http://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=763760755