From: jeff.findley@ugs.nojunk.com   
      
   "Rodney Kelp"  wrote in message   
   news:b7-dneldu_57obDcRVn-oA@adelphia.com...   
   > They could send up some solid fuel boosters that the shuttle could dock   
   with   
   > and use for braking. How how long would it take to brake from 18k mph to   
   > about 200mph without exceeding 2 G's?   
      
   That would be insane.  You'd need "solid fuel boosters" with very nearly as   
   much energy as the SRB's and the ET used to *launch* the shuttle in the   
   first place (the gravity, altitude, and drag losses are far less than the   
   energy needed to get to orbital velocity).   
      
   To get your "solid fuel boosters" into orbit would require a launch vehicle   
   bigger than any ever built.   
      
   Jeff   
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