"Denny" wrote in news:1122835901.916937.201370
@f14g2000cwb.googlegroups.com:

Snipola
Slowng back down by atmospheric braking is always going to be a life
and death situation..
Snipola

An obvious answer there is to stop using atmospheric braking. Well,
at least to the extent that it is currently done.

I wonder, with the use of lightweight solid fuel rocket motors, if
an orbital craft couldn't go up with an extra for deorbit, using it
to slow the craft down so it doesn't slam into the atmoshpere at
Mach 17.5, but perhaps something a bit more manageable, like Mach 10?

It would take too much energy to lift a craft with enough deorbit
energy reserves to have a completely non ballistic re-entry. But
perhaps a compromise point can be reached. A balance between 100%
ballistic re-entry and 100% non-ballistic. Slow down half-way and
let the atmosphere do the rest.

Just an idea....

Brian
--
http://www.skywise711.com - Lasers, Seismology, Astronomy, Skepticism

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