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Posted by Henry Spencer on April 12, 2006, 2:55 pm
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>The shuttle orbiter is a glider. I would guess that during re-entry it
>*does* produce some aerodynamic lift. It doesn't skip it out into
>space, but it may prolong the entry, giving more time for heat to
>dissipate. Whether this is a significant factor in the entry process, I
>don't know.
It's a major factor in the entry process. There is no magic way to make
it vastly more effective. No, skipping is not magic; indeed, it has very
little effect on the final bottom line. Averaged over the whole path,
most of the numbers stay much the same.
By the way, a prolonged reentry isn't necessarily good. The shuttle
orbiter faces lower peak heating rates than an Apollo-style lifting
capsule, but the total heat load it has to handle is much *higher*.
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