Wow, I had no idea about the 10,000ft/min descent, or to quote from the end of the video it’s as if a regular airliner was descending from cruise altitude — ”ladies and gentlemen we will shortly begin our initial descent into Philadelphia” — to touchdown in three and a half minutes.
This was a long time ago, and I could be paraphrasing, but I recall someone (who knew about such things) saying the Space Shuttle was famous for having "the grace and aerodynamic properties of a pair of pliers."
Kinda funny if you think about it. The "peak" space vehicle of it's time being flown by some of the best pilots and they're approximating the approach of a student practicing an engine out landing.
Related: How to Land the Space Shuttle... from Space https://youtu.be/Jb4prVsXkZU
Wow, I had no idea about the 10,000ft/min descent, or to quote from the end of the video it’s as if a regular airliner was descending from cruise altitude — ”ladies and gentlemen we will shortly begin our initial descent into Philadelphia” — to touchdown in three and a half minutes.
This was a long time ago, and I could be paraphrasing, but I recall someone (who knew about such things) saying the Space Shuttle was famous for having "the grace and aerodynamic properties of a pair of pliers."
It flew like a brick on final, but coming down from orbit it was still a huge improvement over previous capsules.
The final approach was at about 12 degrees glide. This is about double of no-power Cessna, but still kinda shallow.
Kinda funny if you think about it. The "peak" space vehicle of it's time being flown by some of the best pilots and they're approximating the approach of a student practicing an engine out landing.
At triple the speed and double the approach angle, for ~6 times the sink rate. Hardly an approximation.
I look forward to space shuttle advancements and one day commercial travel to the moon!
I grew up in the 60s & 70s and I was SO sure I'd be able to go into orbit for (say) my 40th birthday. Pan-Am space clippers and more.
No such luck tho. The US had the tech - but not affordably.
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