[Space, Spaceships] Armor needed for Aerobraking/Re-entry

[Humabout]

Originally Posted by thrash

Atmospheric drag == aerobraking. The figure was for a generic satellite, which may or may not include extended solar panels -- the main difference would be the wetted area and the resulting area-to-mass ratio.

Edit to add: You should look at the history of the Magellan spacecraft.

I never said atmospheric drag wasnt aerobreaking. I said that section addresses a satellite's ability to stay in orbit despite pertebations from atmospheric drag. And the figures given are explained in the text to include large flat surfaces like solar panels, because satellites in orbit have to contend with drag resulting fron such structures.

I have yet to say air drag is not the chief force in aerobreaking. In fact, I specifically called it out as providing a method for finding the time to land, as the OP asked. I simply contend that the figures you are using are misleading. I am also pointing out that the predominant reason to have a blunt nose is to avoid excessive stresses from the bow shock. If you want a faster descent, you need more weight in DR, probably, to account for this.

On a side note, it is possible to determine how much energy is dissipated as a function of time, which can then be used to find an energy pressure, through which you miiiiiight be able to sort out an actual DR, or at least a self-consistent one. Odds are, most GMs can just set a number and move on, but I know Dalton likes detail in these matters.