"Rodney Kelp" wrote in message
...
They could send up some solid fuel boosters that the shuttle could dock
with
and use for braking. How how long would it take to brake from 18k mph to
about 200mph without exceeding 2 G's?

That would be insane. You'd need "solid fuel boosters" with very nearly as
much energy as the SRB's and the ET used to *launch* the shuttle in the
first place (the gravity, altitude, and drag losses are far less than the
energy needed to get to orbital velocity).

To get your "solid fuel boosters" into orbit would require a launch vehicle
bigger than any ever built.

Jeff
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