Science and Exploration

Why Solid Rocket Motors Can Be Very Dangerous

By Keith Cowing
May 24, 2013
Filed under

“Estimate of Secondary Effects of the Solid Rocket Booster (SRB) Destruct Debris Environment on the Constellation Capsule (Illustrated with the TitanIV-A20 Destruct of Comparable SRBs, Propellant Mass, and comparable MET of ~40 sec)

CONCLUSIONS:

* The 45th-Space Wing has reasonable assessments for solid propellant debris fragment masses, velocities, etc.
* The Ares-1 capsule, with an LAS, will 25 not survive an abort between MET’s of ~30-60 seconds.
(High-Q is a risk from ~20-75 sec)”

Full report

“Estimate of Secondary Effects of the Solid Rocket Booster (SRB) Destruct Debris Environment on the Constellation Capsule (Illustrated with the TitanIV-A20 Destruct of Comparable SRBs, Propellant Mass, and comparable MET of ~40 sec)

CONCLUSIONS:

* The 45th-Space Wing has reasonable assessments for solid propellant debris fragment masses, velocities, etc.
* The Ares-1 capsule, with an LAS, will 25 not survive an abort between MET’s of ~30-60 seconds.
(High-Q is a risk from ~20-75 sec)”

Full report

SpaceRef co-founder, Explorers Club Fellow, ex-NASA, Away Teams, Journalist, Space & Astrobiology, Lapsed climber.