3 ms·
Capsules do generate lift by having a slightly offset center of mass and control its orientation by rolling the entire capsule. This is used since the Apollo da
by fouronnes3 2y ago
Capsules do generate lift by having a slightly offset center of mass and control its orientation by rolling the entire capsule. This is used since the Apollo days to steer to the landing site. Even mars rovers use capsule lift during mars entry to steer.
- accrual 2y agoIndeed, there's some neat old school diagrams showing how the capsule lift worked. It's a bit unintuitive at first, but if you have a blunt/rounded object traversing the atmosphere at a few times the speed of sound, slightly shifting the CoM around and tilting/rolling the capsule can dramatically affect the landing site.