Posted on 03/25/2008 6:40:11 PM PDT by KevinDavis
ha you funny man
The deorbit burn has resulted in a 190 by 23 mile orbit for the shuttle.
23 miles is inside the flyable atmosphere.
you better get ready to go outside
its not even nearly dark yet here near atlanta.
spaceflightnow.com
Touchdown is 50 minutes away. This will be the 68th shuttle landing at Kennedy Space Center and the 16th to occur at night. Overall, it will be the 22nd night landing for the shuttle program when you include Edwards Air Force Base, California.
spaceflightnow.com
Excess propellant reserves in the maneuvering thrusters on the shuttle’s nose will be dumped overboard. The dump time will be 14 seconds.
You tell me...I don’t get to log glider time if my 172 runs out of gas.
Oh, you meant Multi Engine.
I read it, Multi PIC. WTF,O? It ain’t the democrap primary up there.
LOL.
Lol...sorry I’m back into flying after more than a year’s hiatus (close to a year and a half) I fit back into the lingo like it’s an old sweater. Yes Multi-PIC = Multi-Engined Pilot in Command time.
And just to keep this on topic, 6 minutes to entry interface.
2359 GMT (7:59 p.m. EDT)
Now 40 minutes to touchdown. Onboard guidance has maneuvered Endeavour from its heads-down, tail-forward position needed for the deorbit burn to the reentry configuration of heads-up and nose-forward. The nose will be pitched upward 40 degrees. In this new position, the black tiles on the shuttle’s belly and the reinforced carbon-carbon panels on the wing leading edges and nose cap will shield the spacecraft during the fiery plunge through the Earth’s atmosphere with temperatures reaching well over 2,000 degrees F. Endeavour will begin interacting with the upper fringes of the atmosphere above the South Pacific at 8:07 p.m. EDT.
spaceflightnow.com
Now 40 minutes to touchdown. Onboard guidance has maneuvered Endeavour from its heads-down, tail-forward position needed for the deorbit burn to the reentry configuration of heads-up and nose-forward. The nose will be pitched upward 40 degrees. In this new position, the black tiles on the shuttle’s belly and the reinforced carbon-carbon panels on the wing leading edges and nose cap will shield the spacecraft during the fiery plunge through the Earth’s atmosphere with temperatures reaching well over 2,000 degrees F. Endeavour will begin interacting with the upper fringes of the atmosphere above the South Pacific at 8:07 p.m. EDT.
I plead lesser flight time - never got beyond a SEL VFR before the kids made me too broke to fly.
Might fix that, later in life - I dunno.
I’m Glider Pilot, Glider Instructor, Private Pilot (SEL). Haven’t flown a powered aircraft in almost 2 years, gliders since the Autumn of 2006. That will change on Saturday though.
What if they reduce pitch to 30 degrees, and slide? Does that reduce heat?
As Endeavor crosses the equator, it will begin the 250th orbit of this mission.
Cutt off your shirt tail, and post it. ;)
It actually increases velocity (lower drag) so the heating would increase. They fly as optimal a profile as they can to keep the heating to the absolute minimum. It’s all about energy management. Initially they lose it through friction. Later on they need to do some “S-turns” to bleed energy.
They need to keep the flat underside taking the heat. If they pitch down they will come in faster and the heat at the hot points will be more intense. They could probably do it but they want to make it as easy as possible on the airframe and tiles.
We don’t have that tradition here. We just get soaked by as much water as whoever is around at the time can find. (I did a private pilot course with 11 other 17 year olds, we had water balloons, buckets, hats, garbage pails, you name it.)
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