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This is what's referred to in some circles as a "suicide burn"; in that you wait until the absolute last second, then ignite the engines at full throttle to zer
by hadlock 7y ago
This is what's referred to in some circles as a "suicide burn"; in that you wait until the absolute last second, then ignite the engines at full throttle to zero out velocity. Assuming the engines work, it's very efficent as you're not accruing what's called "gravity drag" as the velocity goes to zero very rapidly and you're not fighting 9.8m/s acceleration.
If the engines don't start, or you don't get the predicted thrust out of them, well, that's why it's called a suicide burn.
- speedplane 7y ago> If the engines don't start, or you don't get the predicted thrust out of them, well, that's why it's called a suicide burn. Fair enough, but this is exactly what the Soyuz has done for decades, and NASA (as well as Roscosmos) found the approach to be acceptable for human spaceflight. It may introduce complications, but it's clear that it's doable.