Parachuting from orbit: Would it be feasible? Would some sort of a hang-glider be better for re-entry? Could this be the new extreme sport? Can I have a go?
Posts: 170 | Location: Midlands, UK | Registered: 06-03-02
The parachute idea described sounds like it might have possibilities, but how would you get the hang glider down to the level where the air was dense enough for it to work?. Sounds too extreme for me, but you're free to have a go at it. *********************************************************** 07-28-02, 03:25 PM Minnesota I've got to believe that you would have gained so much speed by the time you reached sufficient atmosphere to slow your descent that the air friction would have turned you into a crispy critter.
07-28-02, 03:38 PM Bibc14 assuming that they could get the "big foam bag" to have a heat shield that would withstand the heat enough not to cook the astronaut inside then the idea is pretty feasable.
the parachute is not the problem here, for the astronaut will reach terminal velocity when falling, so it would just be pretty much the same as opening a parachute regularly (with some added weight)
The problem would be getting to the point where you can safely open the chute, meaning, getting to a low enough altitude where the air will slow you down to a slow enough speed so that the chute does not fail. The problem here would be withstanding all that heat.
ASSUMING you could withstand the heat with heat shields, then there are plenty of chutes that would be able to hold the weight of a spaceman, his gear, the foam filled bag, the oxygen for the ride down, etc... If chutes could hold the old Apollo and other space vessels then they cold hold that,
On a side note, there are some rocket-propelled chutes for Cessnas and other lite aircraft that deploy if the plane is in trouble, and those could probably hold it too.
07-28-02, 06:58 PM frankvan "the parachute is not the problem here, for the astronaut will reach terminal velocity when falling"- BibC14
I have to disagree with the above statement. There is no terminal velocity where there is no air. As Minnesota said, by the time he reaches the point where the air is sufficient to open the parachute he would be traveling fast enough to burn up, in all likel;ihood. I do agree that good heat shielding would be needed.
07-29-02, 04:20 AM JoMS Frankvan "...by the time he reaches the point where the air is sufficient to open the parachute he would be traveling fast enough to burn up."
That's why I suggested a hang-glider. It'll start to work as soon as there is any kind of air resistance. Far from burning up, I suspect the main problem would be icing-up.
07-29-02, 10:02 AM Bibc14 Frank i agree that they will be falling very fast when first entering the atmosphere, and that is why the intense heat shielding is necissary, but once he gets further down into the atmosphere then the air will slow him down enough to open the chute.
Which is why he needs the heat shielding, to get to that point where he does not need it anymore and can open the chute.
07-29-02, 03:21 PM gatman Even if you make it to a lower altitude wouldn't the updrafts potentially cause major problems? 07-29-02, 03:25 PM frankvan I agree in principle with both JoMS' glider and BibC's parachute. I think you might combine the two. The glider would allow a very gradual angled descent to avoid the high re-entry heat of a perpendicular one, and only open the chute or chutes when a safer velocity is attained.I'll be an interested observer on terra firma.
07-30-02, 11:10 AM methos um, anyone seen Apollo 13? before reusable shuttles were designed, re-entry from space was done by using parachutes. As the movie also portrayed, the capsule used for re-entry needed very good heat shielding to survive the ordeal. So, yes parachuting from space is possible (and has been done) but it requires a lot of heat shielding to survive it.
11-09-02, 02:43 PM Johnny Velo Doesn't reentry require thrust or gravity?Look at how long it took the Russian space station to fall to earth. Could be that the astronaut would starve to death before entering earth's atmosphere. Frankvan, what say you on this matter? I know orbiting requires high speeds, but the body exiting the spacecraft would be the same as the craft itself. He or she would take forever to get down. 11-09-02, 03:39 PM frankvan JohnnyV, I agree that he would probably need some means of producing thrust to reach an orbit lower than that of the spacecraft. But once he has some air, I would think the glider could make use of the air to skip gradually lower until he reaches the point where the parachute could be deployed. 11-10-02, 11:33 PM Johnny Velo Thanks, Frankvan. You are making me think, and I like that.
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