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For reentry into Earth’s atmosphere, spacecraft must withstand temperatures up to 7,000 degrees Fahrenheit.
After months of waiting, Sunita Williams And Butch Wilmore are back home. (Photo Credits: X/@NASA)
Imagine being sent on a short eight-day mission to space, only to find yourself stranded there for nine long months. Most people would be overwhelmed, maybe even terrified. But Sunita Williams and Butch Wilmore? They took it in their stride. After months of waiting, they’re finally back home. Their SpaceX Dragon spacecraft reportedly touched down off the coast of the American state of Florida early on Wednesday. But before they could step out of their space suits and breathe in Earth’s air again, there’s one last challenge they must have faced: re-entering Earth’s atmosphere. And that is no gentle ride.
If either of them had looked out of the spacecraft’s window, they’d see nothing but a raging wall of fire. “For reentry into Earth’s atmosphere, spacecraft must withstand temperatures up to 7,000 degrees Fahrenheit, caused by the compression of gas and air particles against the surface of the spacecraft. They must also be engineered to fly at hypersonic speeds and ultimately undergo an enormous slowdown for safe landing,” NASA detailed in a blog post.
According to NASA’s blog, to survive such extreme conditions, spacecraft rely on an advanced heat shield called the Heatshield for Extreme Entry Environment Technology (HEEET), developed by NASA’s Ames Research Center. Picture it as an impenetrable cosmic armour, custom-built to defend against the ferocious heat of atmospheric entry. Made from a dual-layer, three-dimensional woven material, HEEET isn’t just heat-resistant – it’s a game-changer. It cuts down the heat shield’s mass by up to 40% while also reducing the stress of reentry.
The descent itself is a test of precision. First, the spacecraft must angle itself correctly, ensuring that the heat shield takes the brunt of the friction. If the angle is too steep, the intense forces could tear the spacecraft apart. Too shallow – and they could bounce off the atmosphere, like a skipping stone on water. But decades of research, trial and refinement have fine-tuned this process, making such catastrophic failures highly unlikely.
As they hurtle downward at hypersonic speeds, atmospheric drag will begin to slow them down, but not nearly enough for a safe landing. That’s where parachutes come into play. A carefully timed sequence will see drogue chutes deploy first, followed by the much larger main parachutes, slowing the spacecraft to a manageable speed. By the time they splash down into the Atlantic, their once-speeding capsule will be drifting gently onto the waves.
NASA engineers have spent decades perfecting the technology needed to bring astronauts back safely. From heat shields and parachutes to state-of-the-art software, every detail has been meticulously designed to ensure a smooth descent.
The two astronauts had travelled to the space station in June last year for what was initially planned as a short roundtrip to evaluate Boeing’s Starliner during its first crewed mission. However, propulsion issues arose, rendering the spacecraft unsuitable for the return journey. As a result, it was sent back unoccupied.
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