Why do shuttles burn on reentry

New posts New media New media comments New profile posts Latest activity. New media New comments Search media. Current visitors New profile posts Search profile posts Billboard Trophies. Sidebar Sidebar. Forums Space Astronomy. JavaScript is disabled. For a better experience, please enable JavaScript in your browser before proceeding. Previous Next. Nov 17, 73 25 SaraRayne said:. IG "Don't criticize what you can't understand Apr 5, 1, Trithinium said:. I think the speed they are traveling at that point is faster than time in our atmosphere so once it does get introduced to our atmosphere I believe that's what happens they incinerate.

Reactions: Catastrophe. Are you serious? The aircraft is said to be hypersonic. Typical low earth orbit re-entry speeds are near 17, mph and the Mach number M is nearly twenty five, M. The chief characteristic of re-entry aerodynamics is that the temperature of the flow is so great that the chemical bonds of the diatomic molecules of the air are broken.

The molecules break apart producing an electrically charged plasma around the aircraft. The air density is very low because re-entry occurs many miles above the earth's surface.

Strong shock waves are generated on the lower surface of the spacecraft. Why Union? Follow and Support Show your love for Bulldog Athletics ». Join in! Union's variety of organizations, events and sports offers something for everyone. Get Involved Find a place to get plugged in ». Theatre Production Join us Nov. Show Search Bar:. What generates all the heat during re-entry when the space shuttle returns to Earth?

Research conducted by the National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics in showed that a blunt shape lowered the heat load. Also, spacecraft must hit the reentry corridor at a fairly precise angle. The reentry angle of the Space Shuttle was typically about 40 degrees, Anderson notes. The Space Shuttle may have gone out of service, but space exploration is still a hot area, thanks to the success of Curiosity, the rover that landed on Mars in August powered in large measure by MIT alumni.

As NASA sends spacecraft to targets farther and farther away, such heat shields may well be the key that allows spacecraft to go where no man has gone before.