DIY Test Recreates Orion Heat Shield Failure

YouTuber polymatt recreated NASA's Orion capsule heat shield using published materials and a segmented structure. He cured samples with thermocouples and blasted them with a propane torch to simulate re-entry. The experiment confirmed NASA's finding that sustained pyrolysis caused gas buildup, fracturing the material. The DIY setup proved effective for testing ablative heat shields despite some residual heat from the copper structure.