Article View: sci.space
Article #7626Re: Pop-top SRB's
From: Henry Spencer
Date: Thu, 16 Oct 1986 17:43
Date: Thu, 16 Oct 1986 17:43
15 lines
1354 bytes
1354 bytes
> ... maybe
> blowing the top off would extinguish the fire. Note that the SRB is
> hollow and burns from the inside out along its whole length. But if
> blowing the cap doesn't extinguish the motor, I doubt it would help...
This may have been what NASA had in mind when they studied thrust-termination
systems for the SRBs early in the shuttle development process. I don't have
details. Their conclusion, according to the Rogers Commission report, was
that it could be done. The problem is not shutting down the SRBs; the
problem is that doing so in any straightforward way involves violent
deceleration that the orbiter and external tank would not survive unless
greatly strengthened. The strengthening cuts the payload to roughly zero.
--
Henry Spencer @ U of Toronto Zoology
{allegra,ihnp4,decvax,pyramid}!utzoo!henry
Technical Details
Message-ID:
<7235@utzoo.UUCP>Path:
arc1-ca.pugleaf.net!utzoo!henryReferences:
<861014-135105-2695@Xerox>, <758@hplabsc.UUCP>Show Full Headers
Complete Article Headers
Relay-Version: version B 2.10 5/3/83; site utzoo.UUCP Posting-Version: version B 2.10 5/3/83; site utzoo.UUCP Path: arc1-ca.pugleaf.net!utzoo!henry From: henry@utzoo.UUCP (Henry Spencer) Newsgroups: sci.space Subject: Re: Pop-top SRB's Message-ID: <7235@utzoo.UUCP> Date: Thu, 16-Oct-86 13:43:30 EDT Article-I.D.: utzoo.7235 Posted: Thu Oct 16 13:43:30 1986 Date-Received: Thu, 16-Oct-86 13:43:30 EDT References: <861014-135105-2695@Xerox>, <758@hplabsc.UUCP> Organization: U of Toronto Zoology Lines: 15