3 ms·
> I guess “lots of height” is a bit more than 70km for realistically strong wings. A drop test of Dream Chaser prototype was done a few years ago from a helico
by avmich 5y ago
> I guess “lots of height” is a bit more than 70km for realistically strong wings.
A drop test of Dream Chaser prototype was done a few years ago from a helicopter, definitely not 70 km of altitude. The prototype successfully landed onto a landing strip.
- Someone 5y agoI maybe mistaken, but I don’t see how that’s relevant. Dream chaser is designed to return from orbit. These boosters won’t reach anything like orbit, and will have insufficient horizontal speed to start gliding. Also, if you want to glide these boosters to earth, the challenge is to get them into more dense atmosphere with a low vertical speed. Once you’re there, it’s ‘easy’. A test dropping them from a helicopter doesn’t test the ability to do that at all; it tests the ability to land after you’ve done that.