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Landing the Space Shuttle – A Flying Machine and the Thrill of a Lifetime
- Founderarcstone 19d agoI look forward to space shuttle advancements and one day commercial travel to the moon!
- euroderf 17d agoI grew up in the 60s & 70s and I was SO sure I'd be able to go into orbit for (say) my 40th birthday. Pan-Am space clippers and more. No such luck tho. The US had the tech - but not affordably.
- bramhaag 17d agoRelated: How to Land the Space Shuttle... from Space https://youtu.be/Jb4prVsXkZU https://youtu.be/Jb4prVsXkZU
- gorgoiler 17d agoWow, I had no idea about the 10,000ft/min descent, or to quote from the end of the video it’s as if a regular airliner was descending from cruise altitude — ”ladies and gentlemen we will shortly begin our initial descent into Philadelphia” — to touchdown in three and a half minutes.
- mrtomservo 17d agoThis was a long time ago, and I could be paraphrasing, but I recall someone (who knew about such things) saying the Space Shuttle was famous for having "the grace and aerodynamic properties of a pair of pliers."
- sandworm101 17d agoIt flew like a brick on final, but coming down from orbit it was still a huge improvement over previous capsules.
- jojobas 17d agoThe final approach was at about 12 degrees glide. This is about double of no-power Cessna, but still kinda shallow.
- cucumber3732842 16d agoKinda funny if you think about it. The "peak" space vehicle of it's time being flown by some of the best pilots and they're approximating the approach of a student practicing an engine out landing.
- jojobas 16d agoAt triple the speed and double the approach angle, for ~6 times the sink rate. Hardly an approximation.
- ksudb 16d ago[dead]