Space Shuttle - Riding the Booster
Discussion
An amazing video of the life of a rocket booster, up and down in 400 seconds.
From the upcoming Special Edition Ascent: Commemorating Space Shuttle DVD/BluRay a movie from the point of view of the Solid Rocket Booster with sound mixing and enhancement done by the folks at Skywalker Sound.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2aCOyOvOw5c
From the upcoming Special Edition Ascent: Commemorating Space Shuttle DVD/BluRay a movie from the point of view of the Solid Rocket Booster with sound mixing and enhancement done by the folks at Skywalker Sound.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2aCOyOvOw5c
Max_Torque said:
Does anyone know what splashes down a little bit before the main booster (with the camera on) ? You see the splash off the right of the screen. Perhaps it is the nose cone assy that housed the arrester system before deployment of the main chute?
I thought it was the other solid rocket booster?2 things:
at 5:00 what is that other smoke trail that goes past the booster we are watching..?
How are they falling to earth if they are "in space"..? gravity..? if it is gravity why do Spacemen need to be tied up so they dont float off..?
Might be really simple answers that my brain is just not processing.
Claire
at 5:00 what is that other smoke trail that goes past the booster we are watching..?
How are they falling to earth if they are "in space"..? gravity..? if it is gravity why do Spacemen need to be tied up so they dont float off..?
Might be really simple answers that my brain is just not processing.
Claire
Gaffer said:
2 things:
at 5:00 what is that other smoke trail that goes past the booster we are watching..?
How are they falling to earth if they are "in space"..? gravity..? if it is gravity why do Spacemen need to be tied up so they dont float off..?
Might be really simple answers that my brain is just not processing.
Claire
Can't really comment on the video yet as cannot watch it here, but I imagine it is the Orbiter and ET (big orange fuel tank). at 5:00 what is that other smoke trail that goes past the booster we are watching..?
How are they falling to earth if they are "in space"..? gravity..? if it is gravity why do Spacemen need to be tied up so they dont float off..?
Might be really simple answers that my brain is just not processing.
Claire
As for the boosters falling to earth, you said it - gravity. Everything that's 'up there' wants to come back down. The only reason why spacemen (and women!), spacecraft, satellites and such like do not fall back to earth is because they are travelling around the globe (about 17,500mph IIRC) at the same rate at which gravity is pulling them back down - this is when an object is said to be in orbit.
Gaffer said:
2 things:
at 5:00 what is that other smoke trail that goes past the booster we are watching..?
How are they falling to earth if they are "in space"..? gravity..? if it is gravity why do Spacemen need to be tied up so they dont float off..?
Might be really simple answers that my brain is just not processing.
Claire
If you stepped off a 40 mile high tower, you would fall straight down just as you would if you stepped off a 40 foot tower.at 5:00 what is that other smoke trail that goes past the booster we are watching..?
How are they falling to earth if they are "in space"..? gravity..? if it is gravity why do Spacemen need to be tied up so they dont float off..?
Might be really simple answers that my brain is just not processing.
Claire
These boosters have "only" gone about 40 miles high, almost straight up. As soon as they shut off and are jettisoned they coast on up for another few miles, gradually slowing down until they stop climbing and then start falling back down again.
It's no different to what happens if you are pedalling up a hill on a bicycle. Once you stop pedalling, the bike starts slowing and eventually it will coast to a stop - and then start freewheeling back down the hill.
Eric Mc said:
It's good, isn't it. It really highlights how flakey the whole Shuttle concept was.
Indeed, and yet despite this and all of the dangers involved, no one would ever turn down the opportunity to fly it. I know I (and many others) have read about the management at NASA before, but reading this I really did find some of the attitudes that they displayed absolutely astonishing.
Eric Mc said:
As soon as they shut off and are jettisoned they coast on up for another few miles, gradually slowing down until they stop climbing and then start falling back down again.
Great video!Thing is, after the boosters were jettisoned at 2963mph, the indicated speed dropped to 2556mph, before climbing back up to 2924mph in freefall and then dropping off again as it slowed down through the atmosphere and into the sea.
I was expecting the boosters speed to drop to 0mph at the top of an arc as you described?
Guffy said:
Great video!
Thing is, after the boosters were jettisoned at 2963mph, the indicated speed dropped to 2556mph, before climbing back up to 2924mph in freefall and then dropping off again as it slowed down through the atmosphere and into the sea.
I was expecting the boosters speed to drop to 0mph at the top of an arc as you described?
Isn't that because it's the apogee of a curved trajectory rather than just up and down?Thing is, after the boosters were jettisoned at 2963mph, the indicated speed dropped to 2556mph, before climbing back up to 2924mph in freefall and then dropping off again as it slowed down through the atmosphere and into the sea.
I was expecting the boosters speed to drop to 0mph at the top of an arc as you described?
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