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Abdullah is not an Amalekite
Abdullah is not an Amalekite
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During IFT-4, it was noted that the flaps rarely moved. But I don't understand how Starship would be stable at that attitude. Stability requires the center of pressure to move rearward with increasing angle of attack. And in order to achieve this in a lifting attitude, the the rear surfaces need to have a lower pitch than the front surfaces. But as far as I know, Starship body flaps are always parallel to the longitudinal axis.

Edit: for those claiming imcorrectly that Starship did not produce lift enter image description here

During IFT-4, it was noted that the flaps rarely moved. But I don't understand how Starship would be stable at that attitude. Stability requires the center of pressure to move rearward with increasing angle of attack. And in order to achieve this in a lifting attitude, the the rear surfaces need to have a lower pitch than the front surfaces. But as far as I know, Starship body flaps are always parallel to the longitudinal axis.

During IFT-4, it was noted that the flaps rarely moved. But I don't understand how Starship would be stable at that attitude. Stability requires the center of pressure to move rearward with increasing angle of attack. And in order to achieve this in a lifting attitude, the the rear surfaces need to have a lower pitch than the front surfaces. But as far as I know, Starship body flaps are always parallel to the longitudinal axis.

Edit: for those claiming imcorrectly that Starship did not produce lift enter image description here

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Abdullah is not an Amalekite
Abdullah is not an Amalekite
  • 3.5k
  • 1
  • 16
  • 41

How is Starship longitudinally stable during reentry?

During IFT-4, it was noted that the flaps rarely moved. But I don't understand how Starship would be stable at that attitude. Stability requires the center of pressure to move rearward with increasing angle of attack. And in order to achieve this in a lifting attitude, the the rear surfaces need to have a lower pitch than the front surfaces. But as far as I know, Starship body flaps are always parallel to the longitudinal axis.