The Spaceship that is our Model

When the Space Shuttle was built, it was designed by a Aerospace Engineer, a Physicist who built Rockets. Wernher Von Braun was the Pioneer who made the Shuttle into the Model by which we define Spaceships on this Planet to this day.

There are some important parts to the development of the Space Shuttle. It must liftoff from a launch pad with Rockets. It can have engines but after it is in Space, “in order” to land it must use a Heat Shield. The Heat Shield uses Tiles arranged in a position to withstand the atmosphere as it slows down. It uses the atmosphere to slow down. The heat is a result of the elements that are pressing against it.

As it approaches the runway, when the vehicle is subsonic, it can put down its landing gear and like a glider, land. To do this, there are some steps that the Crew must take as part of the approach.

The approach starts when the Shuttle is in Space at a altitude of 250 miles or 400 Kilometres. As part of the procedure, the Shuttle will use the whole underbody in order to slow down.

As it is in the shape of a “Delta” wing, the amount of area that the (f) Force is applied against is calculated by the Force times the amount of square feet or Square metres. Even though a Wing of the Shuttle is not part of the Body or fuselage, that it is connected to the Ship, makes it part of the whole that accepts the force and reduces it together with the area of the fuselage.

When the first tests of the Speed of Sound where completed by Chuck Yeager, Flying Ace of World War II (Born, 2-13-1923, Died,12-7-2020), there were questions about the possibility of flying successfully through the speed of sound. After completing the tests, it was possible to do, but secret of those tests remains outside the grasp of developed Countries even to this day.

When the Space Shuttle was built, part of the Heat Shield was applied to the nose of Spacecraft as the force of the atmosphere will be placed over the Wing. When the “Angle of Attack”, as mentioned in flying books, to keep the nose up, helps keep the Aircraft in a position where the airflow pushes over the wing, part of the air is forced around the fuselage. When at low altitude, a Jet Fighter will have the look of a “White Moustache” that is where water molecules are under pressure and appear to make “vapor”.

When there is no Wing, where the surface of the fuselage will have a “white moustache wrap around it”. As metal conducts heat, if there is insufficient Heat shields or not enough tiles, the temperature of the entire surface will rise. To compensate for this, the surface of the Space Shuttle has a different coat to prevent the spread of the Heat. Unless in the area of the Force by the atmosphere, it is in the vacuum of the Delta Wing. Heat is not exchanged between surfaces.

Now if you could ask a Traveler about the experiences they could tell you about, that they have seen these things before. One of them has been that a “reduced wing would be enough to take on the force that was applied” to the Space Shuttle. The improved design made it possible to land “without the use of a runway” after successfully breaching the atmosphere.

I am sure that if Dr. Wernher Von Braun were with us today, he would agree that the use of the Wing correctly, would make most Ships work to land on a Runway. That there are those who reach for the Stars and succeed is part of the whole challenge. Cheers to the Pioneers for their efforts as we wonder about those things they think of, in order for all of us too succeed.

May 2025