Lifting Reentry: Lessening Deceleration on Reentry Explained

[Flyboy]

I have heard of a lifting reentry that is used for lessening the deceleration on reentry. Can anyone explain how this works?

 

[Danger]

Do you mean a lifting body? If so, the shuttle is a pretty good example. It simply means that the vehicle has aerodynamic qualities (in the case of the shuttle, similar to a brick ) that allow it to undergo a controlled descent as opposed to just slamming into the atmosphere. That also involves space-borne manoeuvring ability in order to set up the initial approach in a favourable manner.

 

[NewScientist]

Danger: Lifting reentry is a workable terminology and is better defined (IMHO) as a method by which the incoming space vehicle is given a projectile like flight plan rather than slamming straight into earth! Yes the controlling of height is the main benefit but significant heating problems emerge (especially at the first maxima) as well as lateral manouverablity problems.

 

[Danger]

Okay, gotcha. Thanks. I was thinking along the lines of the Dyna-Soar and such. (Yeah, I'm old... )

 

[NewScientist]

Dyna-Soar for a dinosaur :P - only joking I like the concept of the X-20 and it has a part to play in space travel history but look to the future now...its only just begun...

 

[Astronuc]

Danger is essentially correct. "Lifting re-entry" simply means the vehicle has more control than just a ballistic re-entry, and the Space Shuttle is an excellent example. However, the Shuttle's geometry has its disadvantages. So other ideas are out there. The objective is a 're-usable' craft.

http://www.mae.ufl.edu/cuip/areas%20of%20research/taskplans/Starkeyalternative%20baseline.pdf

http://www.ista.jaxa.jp/res/b01/0c02.html

http://www.hq.nasa.gov/office/pao/History/Shuttlebib/ch2.html

Hallion, Richard P. The Path to the Space Shuttle: The Evolution of Lifting Reentry Technology. Edwards AFB, CA: Air Force Flight Test Center History Office, 1983. An outstanding monograph by one of the leading historians of aviation technology, this study emphasizes the evolution of technology toward the development of a reusable spacecraft . It describes the evolution of the reusable spacecraft concept, emphasizing the work of Eugen Sanger, lifting body studies, and the technological breakthroughs that allowed the Shuttle to be built.

Hallion, Richard P. "The Path to Space Shuttle: The Evolution of Lifting Reentry Technology." Journal of the British Interplanetary Society. 30 (December 1983): 523-41. This is a shortened version of Hallion's 1983 monograph by the same title. It describes and shows the evolution of the reusable spacecraft concept, emphasizing the work of Eugen Sanger, the lifting body studies, and the technological breakthroughs that allowed the Shuttle to be built. It is an especially important article because it shows how the technological problems solved in one program were incorporated into the beginnings of the next attempt.

Hallion, Richard P. "The Space Shuttle's Family Tree." Air & Space. April-May 1991, pp. 44-46. This short article, taken from Hallion's discussion of the early history of the Shuttle published in The Hypersonic Revolution, deals with hundreds of paper studies, experiments, and a handful of aircraft that actually flew and were the antecedents of the Shuttle. It traces the general design of the Shuttle from lifting body technology to the actual configuration that was built and launched in 1981.

 

[Flyboy]

I know that the shuttle uses a lifting reentry because it enters at a high alpha. But I am trying to find out how they do this with a capsule. Do they tip the capsule or something? I would like to see a diagram if one is available.

 

[Danger]

I've never heard of it being done with a capsule (at least what I consider a capsule, such as Mercury or Gemini).