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Lent by Langley Research Center
These capsules were tested to Mach 6.9 to simulate the high-speed
re-entry of a spacecraft into the earth's atmosphere. Historians have
commented that the spherical forms of Russian spacecraft were adopted
because the Soviets did not have the sophisticated thrust reversers and
directional guidance equipment of their American counterparts. Compared
with Soviet methods, the American equipment enabled greater control into
the atmosphere by allowing the base of their conical forms to pivot
toward Earth. There may have been another reason for the conical form,
however. The aerodynamicist Max Faget, head designer of the Mercury
capsule, had also worked on the X-15 rocket plane. The choice of a
nose-cone design, comparable to the shape of an aircraft, would have
been a natural one for him.
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