Imagine what five of them look like in a pretty cluster.
Posted on 08/14/2015 6:36:46 AM PDT by BenLurkin
(Aug. 13) successful test firing of an RS-25 main stage engine for NASA’s Space Launch System (SLS) monster rocket currently under development, the program passed a key milestone advancing the agency on the path to propel astronauts back to deep space at the turn of the decade.
The 535 second long test firing of the RS-25 development engine was conducted on the A-1 test stand at NASA’s Stennis Space Center near Bay St. Louis, Mississippi – and ran for the planned full duration of nearly 9 minutes, matching the time they will fire during an actual SLS launch.
All indications are that the hot fire test apparently went off without a hitch, on first look.
“We ran the full duration and met all test objectives,” said Steve Wofford, SLS engine manager, on NASA TV following today’s’ test firing.
“There were no anomalies.” – based on the initial look.
The RS-25 is actually an upgraded version of former space shuttle main engines that were used with a 100% success rate during NASA’s three decade-long Space Shuttle program to propel the now retired shuttle orbiters to low Earth orbit. Those same engines are now being modified for use by the SLS.
...
The core stage (first stage) of the SLS will be powered by four RS-25 engines and a pair of the five-segment solid rocket boosters that will generate a combined 8.4 million pounds of liftoff thrust, making it the most powerful rocket the world has ever seen.
(Excerpt) Read more at universetoday.com ...
Apollo skeptics sometimes change their minds after viewing real space hardware. The Saturn sure looks big enough to heft a tiny LEM and CM/CSM to the moon.
Those engines are stressed pretty hard when in operation. There are two temperature extremes present, each at very high pressure. The gasses in the fuel & oxidizer manifolds are flowing at supersonic speeds. That causes erosion of the turbo-pumps, interconnecting plumbing, and the injector nozzles. It makes a lot of sense to start with fresh engines sometimes, because failure during launch generally leads to disaster.
Unfortunately, no.
I get pretty snotty when standing up for the Saturn V and the F-1 engines myself. ;-D
GIVE ME TWENTY FIVE, DOWN HILL!
It about 1.72 times more powerful, the specific impulse of the RS-25 is 452 and the F-1 is 263.
Back? The moon is deep space?
Imagine what five of them look like in a pretty cluster.
Because Lord Foul is resident now, not then.
Pretty cool, eh?
Water is injected into the flame chute to prevent its’ destruction. The white stuff is mostly steam.
I used to watch them regularly from Orlando. Even once when I was at MacDill AFB in Tampa I saw a launch.
They don’t... It’s tricky wording. They say the core rocket will be the most powerful ROCKET ever... 4 liquid engines and 2 solid boosters. Total of 8.4 million pounds of thrust.
5 F1 rockets at the bottom of the Saturn V put out about 7.5 million...
Impulse is a really important thing to think about when you are talking about rocket engines, too. An easy way to think of impulse is thrust over time.
In that case, 1.5 million pounds for a 150 second burn for an F1 is still eclipsed by 0.5 million pounds for over 500 seconds.
The Russians used to employ many, many smaller engines on their rockets to get the same power as our few large engines. If you think about it, they had to get the same power as we did to get into orbit.
Impulse, impulse, impulse....
Sorry, jpsb. I didn’t see the other comments, even though I hit the “view replies” button. Didn’t mean to lecture. I’m just a middle-aged Engineer who started out working with rockets. Part of me wishes I’d never left aerospace...
I was a boy when Apollo was launching. Saw the first landing and walk on TV. I was enthralled. Swore I was going to grow up to be a “Rocket Scientist”. Darn near made it... :-)
I was stunned by some videos I saw not long ago taken from inside the fuel tank during a launch. The rate the fuel was being used defied belief.
Well, what do you know! I have a twin brother.
That is cleaver. I just read that there is also a "flame deposition electrolytic graphite" coating on the inside. That is a rough and tumble engine.
The RS-25 is actually an upgraded version of former space shuttle main engines that were used with a 100% success rate during NASA's three decade-long Space Shuttle program to propel the now retired shuttle orbiters to low Earth orbit. Those same engines are now being modified for use by the SLS. ... The core stage (first stage) of the SLS will be powered by four RS-25 engines and a pair of the five-segment solid rocket boosters that will generate a combined 8.4 million pounds of liftoff thrust, making it the most powerful rocket the world has ever seen.The RS-25 engines won't lift the SLS off the ground -- the SRBs are required, and have been lengthened from the SRBs used on the Space Shuttle because they need to burn longer. Both the shorter and longer versions push out 2.8 million each. The webpage notes that these are upgraded versions of the shuttle main engines; the four slated for use on the SLS will put out 2,048,000 lbs of thrust in vacuum, 1,672,000 at sea level. ONE of the five F1 engines formerly used on the Saturn V put out 1.5 million at sea level. Like the RS-25 (or rather, the previous iterations), the F1 never failed in launch. The RS-25s could be ditched in favor of a fifth SRB (simplifying everything, and probably cutting costs by $10s of millions per launch), with perhaps a big more tank for the J2X-powered upper stage.
LOL! The satellite launch was a risky sidetrip. We were in a hurry to get to the Florida Keys.
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