Path: utzoo!attcan!uunet!mcsun!ukc!icdoc!syma!nickw
From: nickw@syma.sussex.ac.uk (Nick Watkins)
Newsgroups: sci.space.shuttle
Subject: Re: Improving main engine power
Message-ID: <1865@syma.sussex.ac.uk>
Date: 3 Dec 89 16:03:27 GMT
References: <1989Nov23.165606.27671@utzoo.uucp> <117.UUL1.3#5131@mvac23.UUCP> <5104@tekig5.PEN.TEK.COM>
Reply-To: nickw@syma.susx.ac.uk (Nick Watkins)
Organization: University of Sussex
Lines: 28

In article <5104@tekig5.PEN.TEK.COM> philj@tekig5.PEN.TEK.COM (Phil Jansen) writes:
>My question is, why improve thrust to ~150%?  Since the shuttle was designed
>for only 3G's of acceleration, what good does the extra power do?  Doesn't it
>just mean you use your fuel faster?
Power = Force X Velocity 

so at constant V, more power is more thrust.

Force = Mass times acceleration

 so at constant acceleration, more thrust
is more payload. Shuttle payload is less than advertised so any
improvement is worthwhile.

>Thanks for your explanations.

You're welcome. I've been teaching mechanics lately :-)

Nick
>                          If you repeat things often enough, they become true.
>Phil Jansen               If you repeat things often enough, they become true.
>philj@tekig5.pen.tek.com  If you repeat things often enough, they become true.


-- 
Nick Watkins, Space & Plasma Physics Group, School of Mathematical
& Physical Sciences, Univ. of Sussex, Brighton, E.Sussex, BN1 9QH, ENGLAND
JANET: nickw@syma.sussex.ac.uk   BITNET: nickw%syma.sussex.ac.uk@uk.ac