Descent Vehicle

Also found in: Acronyms

0.02 sec.

Descent Vehicle

a spacecraft designed for descent, with braking, and landing on the earth or another celestial body. On manned spacecraft the descent vehicle is a cabin containing the crew; on unmanned spacecraft it is an instrument capsule. The descent vehicle is equipped with radio-communications, temperature-control, and life-support systems, a control panel, and seats for the astronauts. It also has descent control systems, a retrorocket engine, parachutes, and a soft-landing system. Its outer surface is covered with a heat shield. A descent vehicle may have a spherical, conical, or other shape. During atmospheric descent the descent vehicle uses the atmosphere’s aerodynamic drag. When braking is used during descent, the descent may have a ballistic or glide trajectory.

Want to thank TFD for its existence? Tell a friend about us, add a link to this page, add the site to iGoogle, or visit the webmaster's page for free fun content.

?Page tools

Printer friendly
Cite / link

Feedback

Mentioned in	?		References in periodicals archive	?		Encyclopedia browser	?		Full browser	?
No references found			The experiment took place in a multi-floored facility in Moscow that includes a mock spacecraft, a descent vehicle, and a simulation of the Martian surface. Isolation and monotony would plague astronauts traveling to Mars in ... by Asian News International ON July 21 (UK time), 1969, Neil Armstrong stepped off Apollo 11's lunar module descent vehicle onto the dusty lunar surface. ACTRESS Anna Friel may by Liverpool Echo (Liverpool, England) In addition, each descent vehicle would in turn deploy a "kite" with a package of instruments at the end of its long "string," to measure the speed and direction of Venus's winds. Ambitious Soviet planetary plans presented at U.S. meeting by Eberhart, Jonathan / Science News			descaling Descamisados descant Descartes Descartes laws of refraction Descartes ray Descartes' rule of signs Descartes, Rene Descartes, René Descaves, Lucien Descemet's membrane descendant descender descending descending branch descending chain condition descending chromatography descending colon descending node descending sequence descending sort descending vertical angle Descent descent function descent trajectory Descent Vehicle Deschamps, LeGer-Marie Deschamps, LéGer-Marie Deschampsia Deschanel, Émile Deschanel, Paul Eugéne Louis Deschutes Deschutes & Ochoco National Forests Deschutes County Deschutes River State Recreation Area describing function Description descriptive anatomy descriptive astronomy descriptive botany descriptive climatology Descriptive Geometry Descriptive Intermediate Attributed Notation for Ada Descriptive Linguistics descriptive meteorology descriptive psychiatry descriptive specification descriptive statistics Descriptive Top-Level Specification descriptor Descurainia			Descent (episode) Descent (episode) Descent (episode) Descent (font) Descent (font) Descent (movie) Descent (movie) Descent (movie) Descent (movie) Descent (movie) Descent 2 Descent Advisor descent and distribution descent and distribution Descent by distaff descent by forfeiture Descent Developer Network descent function Descent Gradient Descent III Descent Image Motion Estimation System Descent Imager Spectral Radiometer Descent Module Descent of the Holy Spirit Descent Orbit Insertion Descent Propulsion System Descent rate Descent Rate Limiter Descent Stage descent trajectory Descent Vehicle Descent with modification Descent with modification Descent with modification Descent with modification DescentBB descenting descenting descenting descenting descenting descents descents descents descents descents DESCHA Deschamps Deschamps aneurysm needle Deschamps, LeGer-Marie Deschamps, LéGer-Marie Deschampsia Deschampsia Deschanel, Émile Deschanel, Paul Eugéne Louis deschool Deschutes Deschutes Deschutes & Ochoco National Forests Deschutes Academie & Futbol Club Deschutes Basin Board of Control

Encyclopedia

Free Tools:	For surfers: Free toolbar & extensions \| Word of the Day \| Help For webmasters: Free content \| Linking \| Lookup box \| Double-click lookup

Disclaimer
All content on this website, including dictionary, thesaurus, literature, geography, and other reference data is for informational purposes only. This information should not be considered complete, up to date, and is not intended to be used in place of a visit, consultation, or advice of a legal, medical, or any other professional.