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Completely crazy idea? Or just might work? (It doesn't)


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1 minute ago, p1t1o said:

Ah, I see, cya then.

Trolling apparently.

9 minutes ago, Pseudon said:

Um... Dint sts-1 have missing OMS POD tiles?

 

The two pilots also reported falling debris rushing past during launch, so paint could have been an additional hazard..

My first guess was that paint would have helped, but as it turns out, it didn't -- the aerodynamic forces on the insulation foam were just too great, and there was always a little shedding even with paint. Using a mesh or other layer to try and contain the foam would have likely caused larger pieces to break off en masse and result in more damage. After Columbia, they mostly just tried to reduce the amount of foam and keep it as smooth as possible.

5 minutes ago, Darnok said:

I have more crazy idea... remove heat shield and find a way to slow down to speeds that won't melt your craft?

Totally. Just grab one of those massive, fully-filled fuel tanks that happens to be floating by in orbit and...oh, wait.

Seriously, the heat shields weren't the problem. They never were. Having a really, really ridiculously large spaceplane with a lot of exposed surface area, particularly exposed to debris from a giant tank suspended above it covered in fragile insulation, was the problem.

Heat shields are not a problem. We've been using them for decades and they work really, really well. Sure, it seems scary to ride from space to Earth on a column of flame...but then again, that's what a rocket launch is in reverse

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Atlantis was the first one to get the mfd panel upgrade.

I never did like the shuttle because it was so unreliable like I said one tile comes off your SOL. The comand pod is better because of its ablative surface it basically does what sweat does it releases heat by evaporating material

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i have a solution to the tile problem you know how the les on the apollo spacecraft has a cover to protect the capsuel from heat damage put a piece of plastic on the heatshield that is jett. with the et

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15 minutes ago, sevenperforce said:

Totally. Just grab one of those massive, fully-filled fuel tanks that happens to be floating by in orbit and...oh, wait.

Seriously, the heat shields weren't the problem. They never were. Having a really, really ridiculously large spaceplane with a lot of exposed surface area, particularly exposed to debris from a giant tank suspended above it covered in fragile insulation, was the problem.

Heat shields are not a problem. We've been using them for decades and they work really, really well. Sure, it seems scary to ride from space to Earth on a column of flame...but then again, that's what a rocket launch is in reverse

I was thinking about balloons not reverse-rocket ;)

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