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Old 04-18-2012, 07:28 AM   #7 (permalink)
KamperBob
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Quote:
Originally Posted by aerohead View Post
Taxpayers in Washington D.C. got a final glimpse of a performing boat tail as NASA's Space Shuttle Discovery made a few overflights during its final flight atop its 747 carrier en route to Dulles Airport and Smithsonian Museum.
Perhaps Steven Chu was looking up and got a clue.Perhaps not.
PS 'the things that pass for knowledge I can't understand.' Becker & Fagen
Interesting. I was a fan of the shuttle program and feel sad about its end. More casual than hard core so I missed the tail cones. I wonder if it was to (a) reduce drag for piggy backing, (b) protect the rockets, or (c) both. If (a) it seems steeper than ideal per template but top view would help complete the picture. It also occurs to me that two streamline bodies in close proximity might be something that NASA analyzed at some point so it seems naturally curious to ponder what they might've published that might be of interest to us in the ground effect game. Interesting indeed. Thanks, Phil.
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