Would It Be Possible To Freefall Down From The I S S ?

[ToraToraTora]

The story this week of the astronauts stranded in the ISS got me thinking about how they could get to earth in an emergency. ok so the ISS is around 17500mph and approx 250 miles high. So what if a space suit with a small booster and a parachute could slow that speed such that the astronaut drops into the atmosphere and parachutes down. My first objection was that they'd burn up because of the all be it reduced orbital speed still too high. So what if that speed could be reduced to something close to zero very quickly outside the atmosphere? No doubt NASA et al have consdidered this kind of thing.....Your thoughts please....

[ToraToraTora]

ok JTT have a go now then..

[jackthehat]

1. How much fuel would s/he need to carry to ensure that s/he travelled in the direction of earth rather than floating off into space?

2. Could there be sufficiently refined control to ensure that all the space-debris spinning about can be avoided?

3. Can they sustain an decreasing-spiral orbit whilst reducing speed sufficiently to 'step-through' into our atmosphere?

4. Would travelling at such speeds render him/her unconscious or unable to carry out the operations required to complete the journey from outer- to inner-space?

5. At what point would the parachute be deployed - would the high-atmosphere conditions compromise the parachute preventing it opening properly?

[Hymie]

This youtube video explains why it is almost impossible for space-craft to re-enter the Earth’s atmosphere without experiencing heating.

 

[Old_Geezer]

T³ seems to be in one of those moods again.