Re: Years ago, I read up on two exotic methods of heat-shielding.
The thing is, the energy that has to be released is contained within the mass of the shuttle as kinetic energy. It has to be transformed in some way before the machine can slow down, so either of your methods would just add mass and therefore increase the problem. The heat generated on re-entry isn't simply a nuisance, it's an unavoidable byproduct of slowing down. There just doesn't seem to be any other good alternative than the conversion of kinetic energy into heat energy.