Very tempting to want to go down there and see it. Would be a great road trip and an unforgettable event. Too bad there's no TV coverage planned.
But my real question is...
How in blue blazer regulars does that thing re-enter the atmosphere without a heat shield? I've seen the pictures of it folding its wings so it can drop into the atmosphere like a shuttlecock, but I still don't understand why it doesn't need a heat shield. Does it just not go fast enough to need it?
And if sub-orbital flight is simply not fast enough to need a heat shield, then what good is the x-prize? You'd think commercialized *orbital* flight would be the holy grail.
![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
Heat shield? Not?
But my real question is...
How in blue blazer regulars does that thing re-enter the atmosphere without a heat shield? I've seen the pictures of it folding its wings so it can drop into the atmosphere like a shuttlecock, but I still don't understand why it doesn't need a heat shield. Does it just not go fast enough to need it?
And if sub-orbital flight is simply not fast enough to need a heat shield, then what good is the x-prize? You'd think commercialized *orbital* flight would be the holy grail.