Questions tagged [re-entry]

For questions about the process during which a spacecraft or other object descends through an atmosphere in order to land on a rigid planetary surface.

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What is the minimum specifications for a ship to survive propulsive reentry?

Backdrop In the ending of my book, the closing scene is the control room of the mangled and torn-up starship diving into the atmosphere (maybe not so dramatic) on its fusion engines, slowing down and ...
Sam Kitsune's user avatar
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2 votes
2 answers
157 views

Would using something similar to reentry heating for preflight/postflight decontamination harm the atmosphere? [closed]

The world of Blort enjoys a thriving interstellar trade! But it learned the hard way in the Year of the Chuknik that ignoring the outside of an incoming spaceship is bad. Really bad. Plague bad. They ...
JBH's user avatar
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14 votes
6 answers
2k views

Starship wreckage after uncontrolled reentry

Take a large spacecraft. I'm thinking about 1,000,000 metric tons and 3,000,000 cubic metres, but I don't think a factor of 10 either way would change things. The ship is heavily designed and capable ...
o.m.'s user avatar
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10 votes
7 answers
2k views

How can a massive ship be partially destroyed in reentry, but have the top part still intact?

In my world a giant ship attempts to land on a planet, sadly it fails. Fortunately the top half is intact but the bottom is ripped up, holes all over it, basically destroyed except for some lucky ...
Topcode's user avatar
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16 votes
6 answers
771 views

Orbital Pizza Delivery

I'm building a setting for a sci-fi RPG. The overall idea is a somewhat grounded in reality universe, albeit impractical and honestly quite silly sometimes. Somewhat like Shadowrun meets Futurama. ...
Mermaker's user avatar
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3 votes
4 answers
333 views

Rapid-repeat re-entry vehicles

In my current writing project, I'm working in a universe where mysterious alien beings travel not directly through space, but through planetary atmospheres via wormholes. These aliens shotgunned ...
BMF's user avatar
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2 votes
5 answers
441 views

Effectiveness of orbital railguns on ground or air-based targets?

For space-based warfare, would an orbiting satellite which was equipped with a railgun cannon be effective against a ground-based fort, or even an aeroplane, or another type of air transport? This is,...
Greenie E.'s user avatar
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