They reported some 'thermal effects' on the nose, and I believe they had ablative material there and on the wing leading edges. It was hard to tell, but it looked like the paint was missing on the nose and leading edges.
-- Niall Oswald ========= UKRA 1345 L0 EARS 1151 MARS
"Gravity assisted pieces of the rocket raining from the sky should be avoided. It is also financially undesirable."
-Portland State Aerospace Society
Correct. Space aliens are generally from Earth and outer space aliens are from elsewhere. The INS of course assumes jurisdiction. That is what government agencies do.
Jerry
Just a guess, but they'd probably get some ablation just from the Mach 3.5 flight, even without reentry.
nothing really NEEDS heat shielding to enter an atmosphere.
the spaceshuttle does not get hot from re entering and atmosphere.
it gets hot from re entering an atmosphere at 17,000 mph :-)
if you can slow reentry down you need a lot less "heat shielding" if any at all.
Space Elevator.
Haven't people found paint missing on nosecones on min-dia HPR flights? Concorde certainly heated up significantly at high speed, as did the SR71, which leaked fuel when cold.
-- Niall Oswald ========= UKRA 1345 L0 EARS 1151 MARS
"Gravity assisted pieces of the rocket raining from the sky should be avoided. It is also financially undesirable."
-Portland State Aerospace Society
In fact the SR71 only leaked fuel when it was cold. The heat build up caused sufficient expansion to seal the leaks! Read, "Sr-71 Revealed: The Inside Story" by Richard H. Graham for an engrossing commentary on the aircraft. I couldn't put it down...Another good read on the Skunk Works is "Skunk Works : A Personal Memoir of My Years of at Lockheed" by Ben R. Rich.
Mark A Palmer TRA 08542 L3
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