Which deorbit trajectory minimizes reentry heating?
Atmospheric reentry, as I understand it, is a balancing act between minimizing delta-v needed and not burning up or breaking up in the atmosphere. The higher the velocity on reentry, the greater the...
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Why making such a big deal with Max Q?
At each SpaceX launch, they always make some big deal of Max Q which most of the time comes at around 13Km and at a speed of 1700Km.h-1But on the way back, stage 1 is at this same altitude of 13km at...
View ArticleWhat was the actual Q-alpha limit for Saturn/Apollo launches, and what was...
Organic Marble's answer to a previous question about Apollo abort limits clarified that the figure of concern was the product of dynamic pressure (Q) and angle of attack (alpha), with the 100% level...
View ArticleWhy might Ingenuity be able to fly faster when it flies higher?
A 2022 March 15 NASA press release says:A recent software change already on the rotorcraft frees Ingenuity from its previously programmed maximum altitude of 50 feet (15 meters). The altitude gains...
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What are the pros and cons of Aerospike nosecones?
Some rockets, mainly (only?) ICBMs have Aerospike noseconesWhy are they preferred in lieu of traditional nose cones?Illustrations: An aerospike nosecone on a trident ICBM Video including the spike in...
View ArticleMight Ingenuity tip over?
While Ingenuity patiently waits for its preflight checks to pass, how likely is it that a wind gust could tip it over? How strong and how rare a gust? Those rotors have plenty of area. (Surely NASA...
View ArticleHow heavy were Perseverance's balance masses?
Perseverance ejected two 70 kg "cruise balance masses" just before it became an airplane,to move its center of mass off axis and increase its angle of attack from 0° to about 16° to make it...
View ArticleCould we achieve aerodynamic and aerostatic lift on the Moon if it had an...
The Moon is not capable of keeping an Earth like atmosphere, nor is it practical to keep satellites in lunar orbit. Which means all transportation and communication would need to be ground based. No...
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Could a helicopter fly on Mars?
Helicopter drones are awesome fun down here on Earth, but what if... we took one to Mars? This sounds like a good question for Randall Munroe. But I read about a proposal to send a helicopter drone...
View ArticleWhy does igniting propellant provide more thrust?
My confusion stems from the relationship between thrust and the pressure distribution in the thrust chamber. For a given chamber pressure the wall static pressure along the nozzle is a function of area...
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Which components do we calculate for center of pressure? Where is the...
everybody!I have 4 questions about center or pressure (cp) and center of gravity (cg) of a rocket system.Questions1) While computing the center of pressure of rocket system, which components do we...
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Why would a significant non-zero angle of attack be an advantage during 1st...
From videos of both the SES-10 launch shown in @RussellBorogove's question, Cause of apparent plume deflection on SES-10?" and the Block 5 launch Bangabandhu Satellite-1 Mission at T+ 01:48 it appears...
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Disadvantage of interstage trusses on Soyuz launch vehicle?
Brian Tompsett gave a detailed explanation of the advantages of the trussing in his answer to the question Why do the Russians use these fence-like interstage fairings?The gap between Stage II and...
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Is this egg-shaped nose cone a good, aerodynamic design?
So Jeff Bezos has recently travelled to space aboard an Amazon-funded rocket, which has an unusual, egg-shaped nose.However, just about every other rocket I've seen has more of a cone-shaped nose,...
View ArticleUpper stage structural loads on ascent?
In another question, this came up:For example, if a Falcon 9 launches 20 tons of fuel to dock in LEO, how can the same upper stage be used to launch 40 tons of fuel to the same orbit? Doesn't it need...
View ArticleDoes a capsule rotate naturally during atmospheric re-entry?
If during atmospheric re-entry a capsule (with a shifted center of mass to produce lift) does not produce any rcs thrust, will the capsule naturally roll? and why?
View ArticleDo larger less dense objects heat less while entering the atmophere?
When a space craft enters the atmosphere, it gets hot and heat shielding is needed. Do objects with more surface area and less density heat up less then heavier, smaller objects? Could an object with a...
View ArticleWhat's the *calculation* for the altitude near the Kármán line where the...
Edit:This question is not a duplicate of the associated question and has no answers to it that were posted for that associated question. This question asks specifically for a calculation, the...
View ArticleWhat would a "Kármán plane" look like, a bird, or a plane?
If I understand correctly (which I might not), the Kármán line is roughly the altitude where a "Kármán plane's" upward lift force at the orbital velocity for that altitude would be equal in magnitude...
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Would it make sense to compress air around a bell nozzle during booster ascent?
Regarding boosters having one single liquid fuel engine, such as Delta 4 for example.Would some sort of annular aerodynamic device, attached to the skirt and placed around the bell nozzle, help reduce...
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