Comments on: What Happens During a Last Second Shuttle Launch Abort

By: Astrofiend

Astrofiend — Mon, 15 Jun 2009 02:51:58 +0000

Damn – that is ball-tearingly close to SRB ignition!

By: Duncan Lunan

Duncan Lunan — Sat, 13 Jun 2009 15:33:54 +0000

Then of course we had Gemini 6's launch abort, which still stops my heart every time I see it on film. After films of V2 failures, and particularly the explosion of the X-15's XLR-99 engine in a manned ground test (see Scott Crossfield, "Always Another Dawn"), I'm still conditioned to an unexpected shutdown being followed by an explosion.

The worst case of the 'rock' was STS-1, where the stack nearly fell over. You can see it very clearly in the IMAX 'The Dream Is Alive'.

By: ND

ND — Sat, 13 Jun 2009 13:21:01 +0000

Jon,

Yes indeed. And the swaying is the greatest at the top where the astronauts sit ugh. I don't think I could handle that let alone blast off into space. Would love to be weightless tho.

The SRB videos are great. I downloaded one that's a complete, uninterupted shot from launch to splashdown from a camera looking down.

By: Jon Hanford

Jon Hanford — Sat, 13 Jun 2009 06:42:58 +0000

@ND: Watching the many replays and views of the launch (on NASA TV) from both the ground and external cameras on the SRBs and the main fuel tank, it is quite noticeable that the entire vehicle sways back and forth on the pad until the SRBs ignite and launch locks are released. My favorite views of the 'swaying' shuttle come from cameras mounted on the launch tower (particularly near the top of the shuttle) . Also, the camera in the astronaut entry platform usually shows some of that shaking going on, just before it is rotated away from the Shuttle . It was quite a surprise to me to see the amount of sway in this massive vehicle prior to clearing the tower

By: Jon Hanford

Jon Hanford — Sat, 13 Jun 2009 06:25:16 +0000

Bummer: NASA just concluded a 1:45 AM ET news conference (on NASA TV June 13th) saying todays' launch is scrubbed until next Saturday, at earliest, due to a leaking external hydrogen fueling connector. NASA says it needs to effect repairs in the VAB and then move it back to the pad with an expected 4 day turnaround . As if this was not bad enough, the Shuttle team must wait until LRO/LCROSS launches (in a very small launch window) on June 17th. This would push the next earliest Shuttle launch attempt towards a June 20th date

By: ND

ND — Fri, 12 Jun 2009 23:34:45 +0000

Scary and amazing that they have this procedure.

What's also scary is that the shuttle is swaying back and forth for quite a while. When the abort system kicks a bright light is lit up and it's visible edge of the fuel tank. As the whole thing sways back and forth the tank partially blocks the light, diming and brightening.

Starting at the 2:15 marker, moving the slider back and forth will show the swaying.

By: Jon Hanford

Jon Hanford — Fri, 12 Jun 2009 23:23:05 +0000

Luckily all these aborts preceeded the SRB ignition or we'd be talking a whole new scenario here

By: Rob_Bowman

Rob_Bowman — Fri, 12 Jun 2009 23:14:24 +0000

Interesting that, it appears from the video compilation, it wasn't until STS 51 in 1993 that the water spray around the main nozzles was used after a main engine cutoff on the pad. I suppose these things get added as extra safety features over time.