Re:Delta-V: Designing the Asteroid Mining Ship 'Konstantin'
by evgen on Tuesday October 13, 2020 @01:56PM
(#24767978)
You can't 'glide down' from orbit. You need to dump your delta-V somewhere. Stop thinking of orbit as though this chunk of metal is suspended from some big balloon out there. _Everything_ in space is moving, 0.0% if it is moving at the right speed and direction to enter the atmosphere and soft land without a lot of external assistance.
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Re:Delta-V: Designing the Asteroid Mining Ship 'Konstantin'
by LargoLasskhyfv on Tuesday October 13, 2020 @02:09PM
(#24768119)
I know that. I've written elsewhere how I imagine that.
With modular thrusters which initiate the deorbiting, detaching when it is en route. Could be autonomous, could be 'tugboats' with human crew, I don't care. Doesn't really matter, as long as the lifting body of refined raw materials has the right weight to surface ratio, and therefore rarely even peaks above 400°C for a short time.