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In today's launch of the Delta IV heavy, it was stated that the starboard booster rocket would be ignited first, followed by the port and centre boosters.
I would have thought this would give some extra push which would tip the top of the rocket to port - my expectation was that they would ignite all three simultaneously.
Why do they do it this way?
The starboard booster was ignited two seconds earlier as an attempt to diminish the fireball effect noticed in earlier launches.
William Graham of NASASpaceflight.com says:
The effect – caused by the rocket’s exhaust igniting hydrogen vented near the rocket – has scorched or even set fire to the first stage insulation on previous flights. While it has been observed on launches from both Vandenberg and Cape Canaveral, the effect is more severe on west-coast launches.
According to Stewart Money of Innerspace.net:
Under the new sequence, the starboard engines fires first, creating a draft which directs the gases from center and port engines down towards the launch platform.
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