Editing Reentry

Jump to navigation Jump to search

Warning: You are not logged in. Your IP address will be publicly visible if you make any edits. If you log in or create an account, your edits will be attributed to your username, along with other benefits.

The edit can be undone. Please check the comparison below to verify that this is what you want to do, and then save the changes below to finish undoing the edit.

Latest revision Your text
Line 47: Line 47:
 
==Ballistic reentry==
 
==Ballistic reentry==
  
The ballistic reentry is the simplest strategy. The spacecraft just drops into the atmosphere and uses only drag for slowing down. For this strategy it is important to neutralize any lift, as negative lift would be very bad for the spacecraft. This is usually done by rotating the capsule slowly. Temperatures range from 3,500 °F (1,926 °C) up to as high as 6,000 °F (3,315 °C)
+
The ballistic reentry is the simplest strategy. The spacecraft just drops into the atmosphere and uses only drag for slowing down. For this strategy it is important, to neutralize any lift, as negative lift would be very bad for the spacecraft. This is usually done by rotating the capsule slowly.  
  
 
During a ballistic reentry, if the reentry angle is big enough, the trajectory forms a straight line, because inertia and drag are much higher than the gravity of the planet.
 
During a ballistic reentry, if the reentry angle is big enough, the trajectory forms a straight line, because inertia and drag are much higher than the gravity of the planet.
 +
  
 
==Gliding reentry==
 
==Gliding reentry==
Line 55: Line 56:
 
A gliding reentry makes use of lift to control the trajectory through the atmosphere. The craft does not need much lift to do such a reentry, but it needs to control its lift vector. For controlling the lift vector, a vessel has two possible ways: By changing the AOA and by banking the craft.  
 
A gliding reentry makes use of lift to control the trajectory through the atmosphere. The craft does not need much lift to do such a reentry, but it needs to control its lift vector. For controlling the lift vector, a vessel has two possible ways: By changing the AOA and by banking the craft.  
  
With the angle of attack, the vessel only changes the amount of lift available (including to negative lift), while the full range of directions are possible by banking the craft. That's why the AOA is kept constant for most vessels at the ideal value for a given speed and altitude, while the trajectory gets controlled by banking the craft. This leads to the typical S-turn trajectory of such vessels.  
+
With the angle of attack, the vessel only changes the amount of lift available (including to negative lift), while the full range of directions are possible by banking the craft. Thats why the AOA is kept constant for most crafts at the ideal value for this speed and altitude, while the trajectory gets controlled with banking the craft. This leads to the typical S-turn trajectory of such vessels.  
  
The craft stays in the atmosphere all the time, unlike the skipping reentry. The gliding reentry is the most effective reentry strategy in terms of complexity and effect.
+
The craft stays in the atmosphere all the time, other than the skipping reentry. The gliding reentry is the most effective reentry strategy in terms of complexity and effect.  
  
 
==Skipping reentry==
 
==Skipping reentry==
  
The skipping reentry gets used if a long reentry ground track is possible and a lot of velocity has to be lost. The spacecraft enters the atmosphere, slows down, but leaves it again on a suborbital trajectory.
+
The skipping reentry gets used, if a long reentry ground track is possible and a lot of velocity has to be decellerated. The spacecraft enters the atmosphere slows down, but leaves it again on a suborbital trajectory.
 
 
[[Category: Articles]]
 
[[Category: Glossary]]
 

Please note that all contributions to OrbiterWiki are considered to be released under the GNU Free Documentation License 1.2 (see OrbiterWiki:Copyrights for details). If you do not want your writing to be edited mercilessly and redistributed at will, then do not submit it here.
You are also promising us that you wrote this yourself, or copied it from a public domain or similar free resource. Do not submit copyrighted work without permission!

To protect the wiki against automated edit spam, we kindly ask you to solve the following hCaptcha:

Cancel Editing help (opens in new window)