The Shuttle boosters had 4 segments and Artemis has 5. What are the differences in total mass, thrust and burn time? Is the thrust profile (thrust over time) the same?
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1 Answer
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4
(This answer assumes the the SLS SRBs are the same as the Five-Segment Boosters (FSBs) studied for a shuttle upgrade...I believe they are, but have not seen this explicitly stated).
The thrust time curves are compared here
- RSRM = Redesigned Solid Rocket Motor (shuttle SRB)
- FSB1 = Five Segment Booster (not sure about the 1)
Reference (a paper by my old boss):
Achieving Space Shuttle Abort-to-Orbit Using the Five-Segment Booster
Weight difference:
- Shuttle SRB: 1,300,000 lb (Wikipedia)
- SLS SRB: 1,600,000 lb (NASA SLS SRB fact sheet)
Other differences:
Ignore the part about parachutes. No chutes on SLS boosters.
Source:
Achieving Space Shuttle ATO Using the Five-Segment Booster (FSB)
Addendum:
Thanks to Jörg W Mittag who suggested in a comment that the SLS SRBs might have been derived from the Ares 1 design. I found a plot for that, which looks superficially similar to the one above except for maybe a bigger thrust difference on the "second hump". Also it's a clearer image.
answered Aug 29, 2022 at 20:16
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2$\begingroup$ Great comparison, but that NASA fact sheet for the SLS SRB gives 3.6 million pounds and 126 sec. burntime. Not that much of a difference though ! :) $\endgroup$– CornelisCommented Aug 30, 2022 at 10:16
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2$\begingroup$ @Cornelis thanks! I'll try and find a newer thrust-time curve. $\endgroup$ Commented Aug 30, 2022 at 11:48
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$\begingroup$ I heard that the SLS FSBs are actually (based on) the Ares I first stage ones. Could that account for the thrust profile difference? $\endgroup$ Commented Aug 30, 2022 at 18:48
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$\begingroup$ @JörgWMittag thanks! A curve for Ares might be available. $\endgroup$ Commented Aug 30, 2022 at 19:22