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Early reentry-vehicle concepts visualized in shadowgraphs of high speed wind tunnel tests. The concept of the ablative heat shield was described as early as 1920 by Robert Goddard: "In the case of meteors, which enter the atmosphere with speeds as high as 30 miles (48 km) per second, the interior of the meteors remains cold, and the erosion is due, to a large extent, to chipping or cracking of ...
The primary goal was to have the RV change its path during reentry so that anti-ballistic missiles (ABMs) would not be able to track their movements rapidly enough for a successful interception. The first known example was the Alpha Draco tests of 1959, followed by the Boost Glide Reentry Vehicle (BGRV) test series, ASSET [16] and PRIME. [17]
The Space Shuttle external tank (ET) carried the propellant for the Space Shuttle Main Engines, and connected the orbiter vehicle with the solid rocket boosters. The ET was 47 m (153.8 ft) tall and 8.4 m (27.6 ft) in diameter, and contained separate tanks for liquid oxygen and liquid hydrogen.
A reentry capsule is the portion of a space capsule which returns to Earth following a spaceflight. The shape is determined partly by aerodynamics ; a capsule is aerodynamically stable falling blunt end first, which allows only the blunt end to require a heat shield for atmospheric entry .
The Martin Marietta X-24 is an American experimental aircraft developed from a joint United States Air Force-NASA program named PILOT (1963–1975). It was designed and built to test lifting body concepts, experimenting with the concept of unpowered reentry and landing, later used by the Space Shuttle. [1]
The Vega-C rocket's 4th stage payload dispenser AVUM acts as the service module for the shuttle, providing orbital manoeuvring and braking, power, and communications before being jettisoned for re-entry. [34] The AVUM service module replaces the integrated IXV Propulsion Module and frees 0.8 m 3 of internal space in the vehicle for a payload bay.
Space Shuttle Discovery as it approaches the International Space Station during the STS-114 on 28 July 2005. The Space Shuttle thermal protection system (TPS) is the barrier that protected the Space Shuttle Orbiter during the extreme 1,650 °C (3,000 °F) heat of atmospheric reentry. A secondary goal was to protect from the heat and cold of ...
Space Shuttle Endeavour landing from orbit on STS-126, its 22nd spaceflight Reusable spacecraft are spacecraft capable of repeated launch, atmospheric reentry, and landing or splashdown. This contrasts with expendable spacecraft which are designed to be discarded after use.