Path: utzoo!utgpu!jarvis.csri.toronto.edu!mailrus!cs.utexas.edu!uwm.edu!rutgers!njin!princeton!idacrd!mac
From: mac@idacrd.UUCP (Robert McGwier)
Newsgroups: sci.space.shuttle
Subject: Re: SRBs
Message-ID: <556@idacrd.UUCP>
Date: 10 Jan 90 19:16:28 GMT
References: <1990Jan10.142852.23804@phri.nyu.edu>
Organization: idacrd, princeton, nj
Lines: 18

From article <1990Jan10.142852.23804@phri.nyu.edu>, by roy@phri.nyu.edu (Roy Smith):
> launch, I noticed that the SRBs were still burning when they separated, and
> them).  To me, this means they waste some significant fraction of the SRB


At the end of burn the thrust decreases rapidly.  When the acceleration
provided by this decreasing thrust falls BELOW that which would be
achieved by dropping them, they are let go.  (Remember F=MA?).  The
mass in F=MA falls further than F when they are dropped at the instant
chosen so that A actually gets bigger.

Bob

-- 
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    My opinions are my own no matter	|	Robert W. McGwier, N4HY
    who I work for! ;-)			|	CCR, AMSAT, etc.
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