On Dec 29, 1:27 am, "Oz Lander" wrote:
Bob Noel wrote:
In article ,
"Oz Lander" wrote:

Why does the shuttle have to be travelling so fast to re-enter the
atmosphere?

How do you propose to slow the shuttle down from orbital velocity?

That I guess answers my question then. I was not aware that such high
speeds were required to just stay in orbit. What would it take to slow
the shuttle down whilst in orbit, enough to allow it to re-enter at a
slower speed?


Orbital velocity is about 8km/s I think. That's what all that fuel is
for -to accelerate it to that speed and raise it to orbital height.
Most fuel is burnt just lifting fuel... Getting down is a fine
balance, too fast (steep) and the shuttle can't dissipate it's energy
as radiated heat and it will burn up. Too slow (shallow) and it is
likely to skip off the atmosphere which will then rob the shuttle of
energy and lead to a very steep descent the next time it comes down
(and it will as it does not have escape velocity). At least that's how
I understand it.

Cheers