STS-124, Kibo to the ISS |
STS-124, Kibo to the ISS |
May 31 2008, 02:33 PM
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#1
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Member Group: Members Posts: 809 Joined: 11-March 04 Member No.: 56 |
Discovery is currently being fueled on pad 39A.
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Jun 3 2008, 07:21 PM
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#2
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Senior Member Group: Members Posts: 3419 Joined: 9-February 04 From: Minneapolis, MN, USA Member No.: 15 |
I have no idea if this contributed to the pad damage, but I thought it quite noticeable that Discovery's rise off the pad was significantly slower than I'm used to seeing for a shuttle. I attributed it to the weight of Kibo, which IIRC is one of the heaviest payloads the shuttle has ever carried.
Could a fractional increase in the time it took for the stack to clear the pad have added enough stress to the flame diversion pits and the entire pad structure that damage you wouldn't have seen after a "regular" launch was caused by this one? The flame trench, after all, has stood up to eleven Saturn V launches and countless (nearing 100) shuttle launches. Is it merely age and wear that finally got to it this time, I wonder, or a slightly more stressful launch sequence? -the other Doug -------------------- “The trouble ain't that there is too many fools, but that the lightning ain't distributed right.” -Mark Twain
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Jun 3 2008, 07:39 PM
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#3
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Senior Member Group: Members Posts: 3648 Joined: 1-October 05 From: Croatia Member No.: 523 |
It didn't look that much slower to me. The Saturns took forever to get off the pad on the other hand. I'd say this is just age doing its thing.
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