Here's a 4th possibility to explain all this disagreement: Various types of shields. We know from the Falcon's shield stress test in TBFC that shields can be reconfigured to take on different consistencies, flexibility... perhaps permeability? Maybe some shields can be made two-way, and some are one-way? Perhaps there's an inherent difficulty in making one-way shields?
I dunno. I'm not gonna get into a cite-fest.
ISD aft shielding
Moderator: Vympel