Picture of an ablated Gemini heat shield. The ablative substance of the Gemini heat shield is a paste-like silicone elastomer material, which hardens after being poured into a honeycomb form. It is not known whether this heat shield was used on a Gemini spacecraft for reentry or only scorched in a ground test, perhaps by a rocket engine. The circular marks show where samples were removed afterward for testing, and the resulting holes filled with wooden blocks. In 1970 heat shield manufacturer McDonnell-Douglas gave both of these shields to the Smithsonian on behalf of NASA. Picture taken at the National Air and Space Museum's Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center in Chantilly, Virginia, USA.
<a href="//commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/User:Sanjay_ach" title="User:Sanjay ach">Sanjay Acharya</a>
<span class="int-own-work" lang="en">Own work</span>