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frustratedpilotOn Facebook, Jorgelina has a question:
i´d like 2 know why space shuttles re-enter the earth at such a fast speed when it is so risky and dangerous. Why don´t they do it in a slower way as the touristic space vehicle will do?
A: Because the "tourist" vehicle uses a different system that hadn't been invented when the shuttle was designed in the late Sixties/early Seventies. The Rutan/Virgin ships have a hinged wing that when in the "up" position, uses aerodynamic drag to set the craft automatically to the safest angle for reentry. Then the wing can reset to "down" for normal flight afterwards. There was nothing like it before and it is a real innovation for machines of its class. Future space shuttles will likely use Rutan's system if it can be scaled up to work with larger airframes.
i´d like 2 know why space shuttles re-enter the earth at such a fast speed when it is so risky and dangerous. Why don´t they do it in a slower way as the touristic space vehicle will do?
A: Because the "tourist" vehicle uses a different system that hadn't been invented when the shuttle was designed in the late Sixties/early Seventies. The Rutan/Virgin ships have a hinged wing that when in the "up" position, uses aerodynamic drag to set the craft automatically to the safest angle for reentry. Then the wing can reset to "down" for normal flight afterwards. There was nothing like it before and it is a real innovation for machines of its class. Future space shuttles will likely use Rutan's system if it can be scaled up to work with larger airframes.
