Xref: utzoo sci.space:11757 sci.space.shuttle:3259
Newsgroups: sci.space,sci.space.shuttle
Path: utzoo!henry
From: henry@utzoo.uucp (Henry Spencer)
Subject: Re: Hang gliders and "bailing out"
Message-ID: <1989Jun5.161450.10102@utzoo.uucp>
Organization: U of Toronto Zoology
References: <1989May29.032320.2277@utzoo.uucp> <486@cybaswan.UUCP> <1989Jun4.055452.12921@utzoo.uucp> <16879@sequent.UUCP>
Date: Mon, 5 Jun 89 16:14:50 GMT

In article <16879@sequent.UUCP> jjb@sequent.UUCP (Jeff Berkowitz) writes:
>I'd like to advance the idea of Rogallo or parawing vehicles for crew
>escape from low earth orbit...
>Could an escape vehicle consisting of a small solid fuel rocket (for
>deceleration burn) and collapsible wing be used in this situation?

There have been a number of proposals for crew escape from low orbit.
One almost inevitably ends up needing a heatshield of some sort, though,
after which a conventional parachute is usually preferred.  (The "almost"
is because I recall seeing one scheme using a rather unusual parachute
to do most of the declerating at very high altitude, high enough to keep
the heat loads down to what a conventional spacesuit could handle.)

There really doesn't seem to be a lot of advantage in using a wing for
this purpose.  The obvious ways of building a collapsible wing won't
stand up to reentry heat.
-- 
You *can* understand sendmail, |     Henry Spencer at U of Toronto Zoology
but it's not worth it. -Collyer| uunet!attcan!utzoo!henry henry@zoo.toronto.edu