Quote:
Originally Posted by DaFace
According to a random forum post:
http://www.collectspace.com/ubb/Foru...ML/000559.html
It's common for commanders to give the pilot control here and there just for practice. Not very exciting, I know.
According to this article...
https://science.howstuffworks.com/space-shuttle7.htm
It comes in at a max angle of -20 degrees. Compare that to around -3 degrees for a commercial aircraft landing. That's far from vertical, and the camera angles probably exaggerate it, but it's definitely a steep rate.
Here's some info on the Space Shuttle tires. In short, they're nitrogen-filled.
https://www.nasa.gov/aeroresearch/re...re-basic-facts
My guess is that they are plenty strong to be fine in a vacuum. The wheel doors are probably thicker just due to the amount of heat the shuttle has to handle on the way down. |
The steep descent angle is probably because the shuttle has a terrible glide ratio.