2 HN users recommended this talk2 months2017–2023score 2.5
Years with an HN recommendation, 2007–2026
HN recommends it as an entertaining, technical illustration of how hard the Shuttle's one-shot dead-stick landing was.
Bret Copeland, in an astronaut costume, gives an energetic talk on how the Space Shuttle landed from orbit, including reentry and the unpowered glide. It includes real-time landing footage with HUD and audio.
“I highly, highly recommend this entertaining and technical presentation by Bret Copeland” (HN, 2017)
On a related note, I highly, highly recommend this entertaining and technical presentation by Bret Copeland, How to Land the Space Shuttle... From Space: [this video]
Entertaining technical talk on landing the Shuttle from orbit.
Here's a cool video of landing the shuttle in real time. The whole landing proceeds unnervingly fast! The actual landing HUD and audio starts at 13:40 [this video]
Real-time Shuttle landing with HUD and audio from 13:40.
> I don't think the Shuttle landing was particularly problematic. They had a lot of control over the glideslope and lots and lots of runway to work with. I'm sure it's a lot more challenging than the sailplanes I fly, but I wouldn't have any major safety concerns flying on the Shuttle during landing. Well the shuttle is a big heavy glider with little wings. One try, and down from 30,000 feet to ground in 3 minutes. Not problematic, but very special. [this video]
Illustrates how difficult the Shuttle's unpowered landing was.
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