From: bmorrell@notriad.spamrr.evercom.retro.com   
      
   I have not been following this thread, so i apologize if it repeats or sends   
   down an different alley, but i saw it today, and the idea of a brute force   
   re-entry matced an informal (very) discussion I had and wanted to know if   
   the conclusion we came to was correct:   
      
   to do a real brute force reentry ie, one that does not utilize air   
   resistance to any significant degree (and therefore, main point, would NOT   
   require a heat sheild) would require a rocket as big as the one that put the   
   spacecraft in orbit, correct?   
      
   the next question would be, if you allowed air resistance for landing (wings   
   or parachute) but continued to insist on no heat sheild, how much smaller   
   could it be? Our idea/question was whether it would be theoretically   
   feasible to put a re-entry rocket in orbit that could be attached to any   
   craft with a damaged heat shield and could lower it into the atmosphere by   
   brute force expenditure of fuel.   
      
   --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05   
    * Origin: you cannot sedate... all the things you hate (1:229/2)