Path: utzoo!attcan!uunet!husc6!bloom-beacon!mit-eddie!ll-xn!ames!ucsd!ucsdhub!hp-sdd!hplabs!hplabsb!dsmith
From: dsmith@hplabsb.UUCP (David Smith)
Newsgroups: sci.space.shuttle
Subject: Re: Orbiter/SRB separation
Message-ID: <4706@hplabsb.UUCP>
Date: 13 May 88 21:27:57 GMT
References: <48048@ti-csl.CSNET>, <1869@bigtex.uucp> <1988May11.185145.592@utzoo.uucp>
Organization: Hewlett-Packard Laboratories
Lines: 22

I'm not trying to say that orbiter separation during SRB firing could be
survivable, but I wonder about some of of the reasons advanced as to
why not.

In article <1988May11.185145.592@utzoo.uucp>, henry@utzoo.uucp (Henry Spencer) writes:
> Separating the orbiter from the tank/SRB assembly while the SRBs are
> firing is difficult.  There are high loads on the connecting links,
> and the separation must be immediate and complete.

True, but since the orbiter is pushing forward on the tank, and not
vice-versa, might it be feasible to throttle down the SSME's to the
point that the loads are manageable?

> And *then* we have to worry about the shuttle being hit by the SRB exhausts,
> which are hot, dense, and abrasive.  The shuttle re-enters in a carefully
> controlled way in hot but very thin air; it's not built to survive a large
> rocket exhaust at close range.

But Challenger wasn't much damaged by the SRB exhaust plume, aside from
the local scorching it took from the failing joint prior to breakup.

			David Smith