Because the energy grows with the velocity squared, it's more like a quarter of the heat of a typical orbital re-entry. No, the drag force grows with the squar

Because the energy grows with the velocity squared, it's more like a quarter of the heat of a typical orbital re-entry. No, the drag force grows with the square of velocity. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Drag_(physics)#Drag_at_high_velocity https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Drag_(physics)#Drag_at_high_ve... Force * distance / time = power, so the heating will scale with the velocity cubed. Therefore at 1/2 the speed, it would experience 1/8 the heating.