Why can’t the space shuttle just go slow enough to not be heated up by friction with earths atmosphere on re-entry?

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Why can’t the space shuttle just go slow enough to not be heated up by friction with earths atmosphere on re-entry?

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Anonymous 0 Comments

We WANT it to burn up. That conversion of kinetic energy to heat and the disintegration of ablative material is how we slow it down on the cheap.

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