[ale] OT: Space Shuttle Columbia

[tfreeman at intel.digichem.net]

On 4 Feb 2003, Jeff Hubbs wrote:

> > rendezvous or an "unusual" re-entry.  
> 
> This is just wild idle thinking, but could there be such a thing as a
> temp-limited re-entry?

Actually, the thinking of vaunBraun and the other thinkers of the '50s was 
exactly that - a slower reentry even if it circled the planet almost 
twice before touching down. (Also, that is a "if memory serves" item, take 
it with a grain of salt). It might even work if the heat shield material 
was intact enough to protect the aluminum underneath from somewhat lower 
heat over a longer period. Of course, aluminum doesn't much care for red 
heat in the presense of oxygen...

> 
> Everything about Orbiter re-entry is predicated on the notion of getting
> it down to a certain altitude, speed, and heading at a certain location
> on the Earth (essentially, the point of flare-out right before
> landing).  What if you threw that out, decided you didn't give a crap
> where it landed, and just tried to get it subsonic in an altitude range
> where the crew could bail out?  I can imagine some kind of repeated
> skipping operation, intentionally coming in a bit too shallow each
> time.  I wonder if the simulators can even handle such.
> 
> - Jeff
> 
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