SLS launch in 10 days

This is the biggie, hope all goes well

**LINK**

A great scientific achievement. By the same scientific organisation that tells us correctly that manmade C02 emissions are causing global warming. Funny how some people will believe one part of Nasa's science but not another. Seems to me like Nasa know their stuff when you see what they are doing on this latest mission.

I thought everyone knew that the moon landings never happened, they were staged in the Arizona desert.

Let's not turn this thread into a mirror of the other one. I can choose to stop reading one where people are arguing away, but if it overspills into others it gets tedious for all, whichever side of the fence you sit.

Those solid rocket boosters seem like a quick and dirty way to get a lot of temporary boost for not much complexity or weight.

As I understand it, once you light them, they are not really controllable, but in the early stage, I guess you don't need much control, just heavy lift capacity.

A bit disconcerting to see this much money being spend as the economy starts the Titanic thing.

The Mars thing is pure suicide. That they are even considering that is the definition of insanity.

Technologically, some impressive hardware/rocket engines these days.

I recall standing next to a V2 at the Huntsville Space Center, and trying to figure out the various parts, and how the gyros controlled the graphite vanes that protruded into the thrust stream.

Lots of technology changes in a rather short period of time.

I learned programming using FORTRAN with punch cards on an IBM mainframe, with a line printer.

FORTRAN took us to the moon too. Great language.

The saying is "FORTRAN is dead........long live FORTRAN".

I still have my FORTRAN compiler, just in case I may want to do the Wallace and Gromit thing.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T0qagA4_eVQ

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Edited By PatJ on 18/08/2022 07:01:11

I believe you do need a fair amount of control at launch - much asymmetry and you could hit New York!

(In fact, one of the early problems with US launch vehicles was multiple rocket components that got to full power at different rates. Plenty of film around showing rockets falling over in the 50's/60's.

The solution was to bolt the whole thing down until the individual components developed full (or at least even) thrust and then blow the bolts .... a solution worthy of these hallowed halls!)

The Space Center (!) at Cape Kennedy (or is it Canaveral again now?) has a full Saturn-5 lying on its side. Much better for getting an appreciation of the size of the beast than standing at the bottom looking up .... or standing at the top looking down - I've done all three.

Edited By Peter Greene 🇨🇦 on 18/08/2022 19:09:14

It appears that only the liquid rockets on the Shuttle and other boosted rockets have gimble control.

I guess you could install graphite fins at the base of each solid booster, such as was used with the V2, if the fins would withstand the temperature.

I have to guess that the solid boosters gain the initial bulk alltitude gain, and then the after the boosters drop off, you can have fine directional control via the gimballed engines, and well as throttle control, and even on/off control.

I have seen some videos (I think it was a Shuttle launch), where the gimbal controls on the liquid engines rack around at light up, and then move quite a bit during liftoff.

Very impressive and accurate control system for sure, and also imressive that it works across such a wide temerature and vibration range.

You have to guess that the software control guys sweat a lot during launches. (probably all the designers sweat a lot during lanch and operation).

There was an interesting article about how the Russians tested individual engines, vs the US testing all the engines together at once.

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Edited By PatJ on 18/08/2022 19:39:11

I stayed at the Howard Johnson motel in Titusville which is about three miles away on the opposite bank of the Indian River. The motel has (or had if it is still there) a bar with large panoramic windows that faced the Cape. I was told that when one of these things launched every window was rattled nearly to breaking point even at that distance. I have never witnessed a launch but I can well believe all the stories they told me about them over a few beers in the bar. It must be one heck of an experience to see it close up.