Wind tunnels have been part of aviation research since before the first powered aircraft took to the skies. And there are a huge range of capabilities available to researchers, including the ability to test models are mach numbers close to orbital velocity. I discovered the thumbnail image on a NASA page showing a Mach 20 helium wind tunnel testing a model of the Space Shuttle Orbiter and thought it was worth explaining how all this comes together to create the image. https://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/shuttle/flyout/unflyable.html If you want to read more about the evolution of wind tunnels there's a book which primarily covers NASA's (and NACA's) wind tunnels https://history.nasa.gov/SP-440/contents.htm Follow me on Twitter for more updates: https://twitter.com/DJSnM I have a discord server where I regularly turn up: https://discord.gg/zStmKbM If you really like what I do you can support me directly through Patreon https://www.patreon.com/scottmanley Thumbnail by Concodroid null