Monday, February 28, 2011
Road & Track Space Shuttle Test
Space Shuttle Test: NASA Endeavour OV-105 - Special Report
Its 0-60 time won't raise any eyebrows, but how about that top speed of Mach 26?
By Patrick Hong / Photos by Marc Urbano, David Homan, NASA & the Author. February 10, 2011
It takes about an hour to get ready to go to work in the morning. Then you stumble out of the house and get into your car. On the way to the office, you zone out a bit as you fight the morning rush. All in all, not much brainpower is needed.
Now imagine this: Getting up 8 to 10 hours before your drive to the office, then basically strapping onto an enormous missile that accelerates long enough to put you 115 miles up in the sky. For astronauts, having spent thousands of hours in training, and working with hundreds of people behind the scenes in NASA’s Space Shuttle Program, it comes down to the most intense and exhilarating eight-and-a-half-minute commute ever.
Going to Work
Going to Work
At T minus zero: The space shuttle’s three main engines have already fired 6.6 seconds ago, providing 1.2 million pounds of thrust (equivalent to 37 million horsepower). The temperature inside the nozzle is more than 6000 degrees Fahrenheit.
The shuttle’s turbopumps spin at 37,000 rpm, feeding the thirsty engines with liquid hydrogen (at -423 degrees F) and liquid oxygen (-297 degrees F) stored inside the giant orange external fuel tank. And they pump at 1000 gal. per second, a rate that could empty an average family sized swimming pool in just 25 sec.
Standing about the same height as the Statue of Liberty but weighing three times as much, the two white Solid Rocket Boosters (SRBs) ignite in anger and push out a combined 6.6 million pounds of thrust (equivalent to 44 million horsepower). At 4.4 million pounds, the entire space shuttle stack lifts off with a power-to-weight ratio of about 18.4 horsepower per pound.
This is the point of no return. Once the boosters fire, they can’t be shut off.
At T plus 8 seconds: The shuttle clears the launch pad and accelerates past 100 mph. Mission control switches from Kennedy Space Center at Cape Canaveral, Florida, to Johnson Space Center at Houston.
For the onlookers standing at the NASA Causeway six miles away (the closest public viewing area), you first see the shuttle rise and its white exhaust plume billow out of the flame trench in silence. Moments later you hear the rocket engines and feel the crackling noise pulsating past you. The sound pressure energy level at the launch pad is about 220 decibels (dB), and at a mile away, 135, where your hearing would still be damaged.
Human death occurs at around 200 dB due to intense vibration of internal organs. NASA says at 400 feet away, the heat will kill you. And at 800, the sound will. Watching the shuttle launch from six miles away doesn’t seem too distant after all.
At T plus 2:06 minutes: The shuttle climbs past 28 miles above sea level, traveling at nearly 3000 mph. Also at this point, the two boosters are jettisoned and parachuted back down to the Atlantic ocean for recovery, about 140 miles off the Florida coast.
At T plus 8:30 minutes: After accelerating at nearly 3g (gaining 66 mph every second), the shuttle’s Main Engine Cut Off (MECO) occurs. The orange external fuel tank is jettisoned and burns up over the Pacific ocean. Traveling at 17,000 mph (about Mach 26) and 65 miles above sea level, the two smaller rear rocket engines mounted on the Orbital Maneuvering System (OMS) pods fire. They push the shuttle higher into proper orbital altitude between 115 miles and 400 miles depending on the mission. Each 6000-lb. thrust OMS engine is fueled by gaseous nitrogen tetroxide and hydrazine, which combust instantaneously when they come in contact.
The astronauts have arrived at their office.
Continue reading at http://www.roadandtrack.com/special-report/space-shuttle-test-nasa-endeavour-ov-105
Sunday, February 27, 2011
Liftoff of the Space Shuttle Discovery
Tuesday, February 22, 2011
Laura-this is the style in FL
Eat Your Heart Out, Cooper & Nick
Port-A-Potty shared by Ralph & Martinez (not at same time)
The Eustis 'Easy Life'
Sunday, February 20, 2011
Sports Movie Trailer
Tuesday, February 15, 2011
Upward Basketball
Thursday, February 10, 2011
Tain't Fair
I always dreamed about being chased by one woman--and here is Bryce being chased by two.
Sunday, February 06, 2011
Scenes From Our Visit To Eustis
Lake County is my playground. Bryce
enjoyed a 6-Day Park Hopper throughout
Lake County which was decidely less
expensive than the Disney Park Hopper
version.
Thursday, February 03, 2011
Momma Nan and her Kindle
Atlantis
Disney Dream
