RedBull Stratos...Felix Baumgartner....700mph+ FreeFall
Discussion
Eric Mc said:
Megaflow said:
A thought that occured watching this on the news this morning, how far up do you have to go before re-entry becomes an issue?
I suspect, by the very nature of re-entry, that you'd have to leave the atmosphere totally, and therefore there is no gravity to pull you down.
I presume you are concerned about the atmospheric heat friction that is normally associated with a spacecraft or satellite re-entering the atmosphere from earth orbit (or even direct from the moon, as in Apollo and Zond missions).I suspect, by the very nature of re-entry, that you'd have to leave the atmosphere totally, and therefore there is no gravity to pull you down.
Atmospheric heating is not a function of altitude. It is a function of speed.
If you climbed a tower 100 miles high - you would be in space. If you jumped off that tower and started falling towards earth, your velocity would never exceed 800 mph - and at that speed frictional heating due to the atmopshere would be almot undetectable.
If you are in orbit around the earth at an altitude of 100 miles, you will start entering the atmosphere at 17,500 mph (25.000 mph if coming back from the moon). At those types of speeds atmospheric heating is a major issue and a specially designed heat shield of some sort is required to prevent the spacecraft from burning and breaking up.
True - it's the bow shock at the front of the re-entering object. However, the whole idea of the blunt body shape is to deliberately create that bow shock - because that protects the worst elements of the heat from impinging on the structure of the re-entering craft.
Original designs for spacecraft were often needle nosed - but they created genuine frictional heating right at the tip - which would end up destroying the vehicle.
Original designs for spacecraft were often needle nosed - but they created genuine frictional heating right at the tip - which would end up destroying the vehicle.
BrabusMog said:
mattnunn said:
Hmmm.... Roswell New Mexico...
Could we be looknig at alien technology here? "Baumgartner" is that german for half man half zoidian?
I'm afraid the literal translation is Flower-Gardner Could we be looknig at alien technology here? "Baumgartner" is that german for half man half zoidian?
Just saying
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