R
rogerinnh
Guest
When Space Ship One (Rutan's winning entry in the X-Prize competition) returned from space, it's forward velocity was nearly zero. That is, it returned to Earth as if simply dropped from its maximum altitude. It therefore had a much easier flight path on the way back. Easier than the Shuttle, that is, which has to slow down from orbital velocity before it could then fly the rest of the way to Earth. The Shuttle uses atmospheric drag to slow it down, and hence the need for the tiles.<br /><br />So, I'm thinking, how much energy does it actually take to slow the Shuttle down from orbital velocity to zero? And how much propellant would have to be used to perform that slow-down, instead of using atmospheric drag? That is, it it conceivable for the Shuttle to carry along enough extra fueld to perofmr that slow-down operation, making it much easier to then return to Earth, as Space Ship One did?<br /><br />