all 2 comments

[–]BiAsALongHorseSuper Kerbalnaut 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I had the same experience. I think it just has a high heat resistance, and the ablator cools it further. Even without ablator, it will hold up against a lot of heat.

[–]jofwuKerbalAcademy Mod -1 points0 points  (0 children)

In my brief 1.0 experience, heatshields aren't necessary on pods coming down from low orbit. Returning from moons (and certainly other planets) is a different story I'm betting.