How did "rockets" carrying astronauts get back to earth BEFORE the space shuttle was invented...?

Answer 1

The capsules descended on parachutes.

Answer 2

Before the shuttle, the capsules (both Russian and American) used ablative heat shields. Since an orbiting craft is traveling at 18,000 MPH+, when it re-enters the atmoshpere tremendous heat is generated. To dissipate this heat, as mentioned, ablative heat shields were used. These shields used materials in a foam type matrix that burns away. As the materials burns away, it carries heat away with it. The temperatures generated are in the thousands of degess of temperature. Even the areas not being directly touched can heat to several hundred degrees! The shuttle has insulator tiles that are reusable and are extremely light. They are something like 99% free space (or something equally hard to believe).

Answer 3

The booster part of the rockets came apart in stages when the fuel stopped burning in each stage. They fell into the ocean. The capsule where the astronauts were eventually made it back to earth after orbit, freefalling until the last several thousand feet where they deployed a parachute and the capsule floated into the ocean where the Navy picked them up.

Answer 4

Rockets didn't make it back. The astronaut(s) returned in a space capsule, which was extremely small, compared to the Shuttle. Type in space capsule in your search box. I'm sure there are a lot of pictures.

Answer 5

They initiated a descent by using retrorockets (retrograde maneuver) to drop out of orbit or "deorbit". This isn't all that different than what the shuttle does, from what I've seen, although I am not a big student of the shuttle program.
The retrograde maneuver was for orbital spacecraft only. For spacecraft returning from the moon, it was done by the spacecraft returning at a specific angle into the atmosphere to not skip out of the reentry path or enter so steeply that the g forces would be too high for the spacecraft to withstand.

Answer 6

They had heat shields that protected the ship as it reentered the atmosphere. It was not flown like the space shuttle. After long enough it slowed and large parachutes were used to lower it into the ocean, where it was picked up by U.S. Navy ships and personnel. Russian ships still do this, except they land on land instead of water.

Answer 7

Capsules, such as the Apollo command module on display at the Smithsonian. These had a heat shield on the bottom, and parachutes at the top, and after the air had slowed the capsule to a few hundred MPH, the parachutes deployed to accomplish a landing. Which is a misnomer, as the "landings" tended to be in the ocean.

Answer 8

You had to carry enough rocket power with you to knock yourself out of orbit and re-enter the atmosphere--or just take a short flight in a sub-orbital trajectory. Once you were back in the atmosphere, you could drop into the ocean or wherever by parachute.

Answer 9

Do you have any theory what a bullet might do in the gap station? Bullets make holes in issues. you do no longer want holes in issues in area. The equivalent and opposite reaction ability close to-particular harm to the shooter, too, in 0g. Cosmonauts used to hold weapons in the tablet, and nonetheless ought to. it is using the fact they land on land, and must be way off beam, and ought to could consume some thing wandering by. for a matching reason, astronauts used to hold fishing kit.

Answer 10

lots of mathematics and blasting off the moon gave them propulsion to get headed back to earth. As far as I know there is no air in space so a regular rocket would just blow into nothing as far as power so I'm not sure good qua though