From: root@mauve.demon.co.uk   
      
   Henry Spencer  wrote:   
   > In article <40722359.F2622820@yahoo.com>,   
   > Abrigon Gusiq   wrote:   
   >>> ...A long, slow, high-L/D reentry has   
   >>> major disadvantages as well as advantages.   
   >>   
   >>So no way to have a massive amount of area, and use the resulting area   
   >>to act as a parachute on the atmosphere? Asbestos parachute or ..   
   >   
   > You *can* do that, but it's a different concept entirely.  With a very low   
   > mass per unit area -- via parachute, inverted-umbrella, whatever -- the   
   > reentry environment changes in a rather different way.  Reentry doesn't   
   > get longer or slower; the duration, and the G-loads, are determined almost   
   > entirely by L/D, which is a function of shape only.  However, *heat* loads   
      
   The exception is that if you can design the parachute with a variable   
   cross-section (tear-off panels when load exceeds a certain amount, ...)   
   then you can change G-loads a bit, by extending the time of reentry.   
      
   As Henry said, for a constant mass per unit area, the graphs of   
   accelleration-time look similar.   
      
   If before the accelleration peaks, you drop the outer parachute,   
   and use a smaller one, you can drop back down the graph, and start again   
   lower down.   
      
   --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05   
    * Origin: you cannot sedate... all the things you hate (1:229/2)