I’ve got an uncle that constantly posts conspiracy theories all the time, latest one is
‘The shuttle heats up during reentry at speeds of 16,700 mph’
‘But while leaving earth at speeds of 25,000 mph there’s no heat?’
In: Physics
When spacecraft launch, they start with 0 speed and accelerate, but that takes time, By the time they’re going fast enough for atmospheric heating to matter, they’re already clear of the densest part of the atmosphere that causes heating in the first place.
On the way back, they’re already starting with a speed of 27,500 km/h. They hit the atmosphere at mach 25 and the atmosphere is the only thing to slow them down. That’s a tremendous amount of energy that has to be lost.
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