3 ms·
Temperatures on the exterior of the rocket reached as high as 115.4 degrees Celsius during liftoff and 128.3 degrees Celsius during atmospheric reentry Doesn't
by dthal 12y ago
Temperatures on the exterior of the rocket reached as high as 115.4 degrees Celsius during liftoff and 128.3 degrees Celsius during atmospheric reentry
Doesn't that re-entry temperature seem way too low? I get that its probably a rear-facing surface, but still...
- userbinator 12y agoYes, it's extremely low - even a "rear-facing surface" would get hot enough to melt metals such as aluminium during a typical reentry. That's why the space shuttle has all those insulating tiles.
- TheSpiceIsLife 12y agoMaybe not? Aluminium melts at 660.32 °C / 1220.58 °F [1]. I guess aluminium alloys probably melt at slightly higher temperatures. Unless, of course, there's an aluminium alloy eutectic - I don't know. "Felt reusable surface insulation (FRSI). White Nomex felt blankets on the upper payload bay doors, portions of the midfuselage and aft fuselage sides, portions of the upper wing surface and a portion of the OMS/RCS pods. Used where temperatures stayed below 371 °C (700 °F)."[2] "The Space Shuttle thermal protection system (TPS) is the barrier that protected the Space Shuttle Orbiter during the searing 1,650 °C (3,000 °F) heat of atmospheric reentry."[2] 1. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aluminium http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aluminium 2. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Space_Shuttle_thermal_protection_system http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Space_Shuttle_thermal_protectio... (Edit: added bit about eutectic)
- rflrob 12y agoThe rockets used were sounding rockets—not orbital. I'm not sure just how much slower they are than orbital rockets, but if my hours of playing KSP are any guide, the answer is "quite a bit slower".