Well, yes. This is how orbital mechanics works actually. When you throw a ball it gains altitude but slows down. Then it reaches the highest point (AP) at which its velocity is zero. Then it starts falling down again.
You have to remember an object in orbit is no different. It is a falling object that has a velocity that is high enough to "fall and miss" (to quote one of my favorite authors of all time: Douglas Adams).
Orbital mechanics is confusing, but a few hours of playing Kerbal Space Program will make it very clear.
What I found most interesting from the data is that the booster lost altitude, gained speed, and then bounced back up. This is also a common thing to happen. It is bouncing off the atmosphere, which is only possible because of the very high speed of the booster.
It is going up again after having gone down. Another bounce. They roughly occur at 100 miles altitude. There will be more bounces until enough velocity is lost at which point it will continue its descent and crash.
It will lose velocity now and then come down again and gain velocity, et cetera. This is a joy to watch lol.
And it is coming down again. Next bounce at below 100 miles probably. It will dip in deeper until it will no longer bounce, then it will crash. This can go on for days. Fascinating stuff :-)
A few days of KSP could help.
Well, yes. This is how orbital mechanics works actually. When you throw a ball it gains altitude but slows down. Then it reaches the highest point (AP) at which its velocity is zero. Then it starts falling down again.
You have to remember an object in orbit is no different. It is a falling object that has a velocity that is high enough to "fall and miss" (to quote one of my favorite authors of all time: Douglas Adams).
Orbital mechanics is confusing, but a few hours of playing Kerbal Space Program will make it very clear.
What I found most interesting from the data is that the booster lost altitude, gained speed, and then bounced back up. This is also a common thing to happen. It is bouncing off the atmosphere, which is only possible because of the very high speed of the booster.
Here is a nice short video explaining the basics:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MxIt8pSWbf4
It is going up again after having gone down. Another bounce. They roughly occur at 100 miles altitude. There will be more bounces until enough velocity is lost at which point it will continue its descent and crash.
It will lose velocity now and then come down again and gain velocity, et cetera. This is a joy to watch lol.
And it is coming down again. Next bounce at below 100 miles probably. It will dip in deeper until it will no longer bounce, then it will crash. This can go on for days. Fascinating stuff :-)