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Showing results for tags 'lithobraking'.
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After some testing, I've found the airbrakes make lithobraking a real possibility. When de-orbiting, if you deploy air brakes immediately upon entering the atmosphere it reduces the increase in velocity from gravity to the point where heat shields are not needed. While they do not reduce ground impacts to the point where kerbals would survive, with the proper design one can land a probe with no parachutes or engines. The craft I've used have landed at less than 30 m/s & survived. A set of landing gear or a sturdy landing structural will both work. Parachutes may be more useful for a soft landing, but the air brakes have some advantages: 1) Reusable 2) Instant deployment 3) Reduces mass. 4) Deployable at any altitude. 5) Reduces re-entry heating As for disadvantages, they require more parts to work effectively, are bulky, and tend to be more expensive. They don't work well for crewed or heavy craft. But now it's viable a design option. I've only tried it on Kerbin, but I look forward to testing it on Eve.
