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SSTO propulsion overview
Henry Spencer opined
In article , Allen Meece wrote: The bigger the area of the heat shield, the lesser the area unit heat, the higher the L/D ratio and the slower the sink rate and the longer the duration of reentry. Uh, no. The larger area *does* lessen heat loads. However, it makes no difference to L/D -- that is a function of *shape*, not size -- and it makes almost no difference to reentry duration, which is driven almost entirely by L/D. But if the larger size does not increase the mass much, wouldn't a lower density vehicle stay at a higher altitude longer? -ash Cthulhu for President! Why vote for a lesser evil? |
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