Craig Fink wrote:
A simple trajectory design change can blow the foam debris away from the
Orbiter, instead of blowing the blizzard of debris towards the Orbiter.
From Mach 2 to 4 the Shuttle flys a +2 degree angle of attack. Changing the
angle of attack to -2 degrees in this region would rotate the relative wind
on the Orbiter by 4 degrees. Essentially, blowing the foam away from the
bottom of the Orbiter instead of towards it.
OK, so what are the effects on the rest of the stack? On the
trajectory? On payload? Abort options?
It's not near as simple as you'd like to believe.
D.
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