This could be a serious problem. The shield protected the spacecraft from burning up from the extreme heat of re-entering the Earth's atmosphere.

VOA: special.2009.06.17

Engineers believed the warning signal was wrong and the shield was locked.

VOA: special.2009.06.17

Many Poles assumed the U.S.decision to cancel the shield was an attempt to cozy up to Russia, which was strongly opposed to the original plans.

VOA: standard.2009.10.22

(..) One woman in Warsaw explains that she was happy the shield was canceled because she does not think Poland needs to be defended from anyone,even Russia.

VOA: standard.2009.10.21

The rockets, normally released before returning to Earth, could help keep a loose heat shield in place.

VOA: special.2009.06.17

During the second orbit, one of these signals warned that the heat shield might not be locked firmly to the bottom of the spacecraft.

VOA: special.2009.06.17

Long ago,King Charles the Second of England added the colony's coat of arms to his shield.

VOA: special.2011.01.23

But they told Glenn not to release rockets connected to the heat shield.

VOA: special.2009.06.17

Glenn reported that he was okay. The heat shield had been locked.

VOA: special.2009.06.17

Everyone was worried about the heat shield.

VOA: special.2009.06.17

The seven-member crew controlled a robotic arm equipped with cameras and lasers to scan the surface of the heat shield.

VOA: standard.2009.07.16

When U.S.President Barack Obama announced last month that the old missile shield was being canceled, the Polish political establishment panicked.

VOA: standard.2009.10.22

Mr.Obama's announcement last month that he was canceling the planned Bush-era missile shield ruffled a lot of feathers in Poland.

VOA: standard.2009.10.21

(Speaking in Russian) He says Russia's nuclear shield allows it to solve all the problems, which it has to solve.

VOA: standard.2009.12.25