SpaceX and Boeing Still Need a Parachute That Always Works

Re:SpaceX and Boeing Still Need a Parachute That Always Works by gpm on Wednesday November 06, 2019 @02:31PM (#21466151)

As I understand the numbers something like 99.9% of that 6400 m/s dV is done via aerobreaking. Which makes it actually much easier to land on mars than on the moon energy wise.

The falcon heavy and dragon were almost definitely up to the task, given that SpaceX was for a short period of time actively looking for customers.

Source on the 99.9% is this talk (about starship, but I doubt red dragon would have been substantially different in terms of delta v): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bysu8XN5OfY

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Re:SpaceX and Boeing Still Need a Parachute That Always Works by Tuna-Fish on Wednesday November 06, 2019 @02:43PM (#21466326)

>99% is possible for the Starship because it has a lot of pitch control, and can fly a trajectory in the atmosphere where it maximizes lift for as long as it can.

A capsule doing a simpler landing generally needs to get rid of about 400m/s using other methods, based on NASA's past missions.

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