Timeline for What are the top temperatures occurring during reentry?
Current License: CC BY-SA 3.0
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| Jan 13, 2020 at 21:46 | comment | added | AI0867 | It also uses its plane-like characteristics to stay up high for longer, reducing the heat flux due to the lower air density. This is not unique to the shuttle (the soyuz does the same thing, to reduce G-forces), but it has a better L/D ratio than capsules. | |
| May 25, 2016 at 7:37 | history | edited | Hobbes | CC BY-SA 3.0 |
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| Apr 29, 2016 at 9:21 | comment | added | Luaan | @Antzi Yes, because it has a huge surface area. Remember, reentry is all about losing speed, it's not inherent to space travel. Slamming into the atmosphere is just still the cheapest way of losing orbital speed. Since the shuttle has a huge surface area, it can afford a less drastic approach. At the same time, it doesn't use ablative shielding, so it must have lower reentry temperatures - the heat is not disposed of, just "stored", and that limits the capacity (compare cooling with liquid water with cooling via evaporation / ice melting). It's all about the reusability. | |
| Apr 28, 2016 at 11:41 | comment | added | Antzi | The shuttle has a really reentry low temperature compare to other spacecrafts. | |
| Apr 28, 2016 at 11:21 | history | answered | Hobbes | CC BY-SA 3.0 |