Patent ID: 7837154

Claim:
In a spacecraft having a spacecraft body and a shield arrangement mounted on said spacecraft body, wherein said shield arrangement is selectively deployable to a deployed configuration and selectively retractable to a retracted configuration, and wherein said shield arrangement provides heat protection and deceleration of said spacecraft body with said shield arrangement deployed in said deployed configuration when said spacecraft enters from space into an atmosphere, an improvement wherein: said shield arrangement comprises a plurality of individual panels made of a high temperature resistant fiber reinforced ceramic material, said individual panels are movably connected to and extendable relative to said spacecraft body to be deployable to said deployed configuration, said individual panels overlap one another along longitudinal edge portions of said panels to form a deployed shield in said deployed configuration, said individual panels are not connected directly to one another, said shield arrangement further comprises a panel actuating ring that extends around and is movably connected to said spacecraft body so as to be movable along said spacecraft body parallel to an axis of said spacecraft body, and a plurality of compression struts that each respectively have first and second articulated bearing joints respectively on opposite first and second ends thereof, and said first articulated bearing joints of said compression struts are respectively connected to said individual panels and said second articulated bearing joints of said compression struts are connected to said panel actuating ring, so that a displacement of said panel actuating ring along and parallel to said axis of said spacecraft body is adapted to deploy said panels from said retracted configuration to said deployed configuration.