Segment V9.1: Space Shuttle Landing

(Related to Textbook Section 9.1 - General External Flow Characteristics)

Flow past complex shaped bodies may exhibit a variety of characteristics.

Although the space shuttle spends most of its mission in the vacuum of space, there are many phenomena associated with flow past it during the final stages of landing. The shuttle needs to be a relatively streamlined object so that it can glide properly. Upon touchdown a drag chute is used to make it more like a blunt object and increase its aerodynamic drag to slow it down. Note the wing tip vorticies (swirls) made visible by the smoke from the skidding tires at the moment of touchdown. (Video courtesy of NASA.)