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11 votes
1 answer
4k views

Does a fully loaded Starship really have a thrust to weight ratio less than 1 at sea level?

If Superheavy fails during launch (or even fails to launch in an unsafe way) the Starship itself might well be able to just light its engines and fly a suitable suborbital trajectory https://space....
Abdullah is not an Amalekite's user avatar
1 vote
0 answers
78 views

What if satellites could be recovered during a launch failure? [duplicate]

How heavy would a capsule have to be to return a satellite safely to earth in the event of a launch failure? Would a satellite survive the loads endured by astronauts during an abort? If not, is there ...
Abdullah is not an Amalekite's user avatar
3 votes
2 answers
381 views

When lower stages explode, can upper stages just fire and escape?

If Superheavy fails during launch (or even fails to launch in an unsafe way) the Starship itself might well be able to just light its engines and fly a suitable suborbital trajectory to a safe landing ...
Abdullah is not an Amalekite's user avatar
2 votes
2 answers
351 views

Riding out an exploding rocket

It is known that at least some of Challenger's crew survived the explosion, while conscious. If the cabin had a parachute, they may have lived. This is despite the Space Shuttle stack being one of the ...
Abdullah is not an Amalekite's user avatar
1 vote
0 answers
52 views

Launch excapse system for satellite payloads? [duplicate]

Once a rocket lifts off, there is usually no abort mode that does not involve the destruction of the rocket, and on a satellite launch, the payload. Therefore, expendeble satellite launchers are quite ...
Abdullah is not an Amalekite's user avatar
17 votes
1 answer
2k views

Was the LES used in the MS-10 abort?

I can find no clear information regarding the use of the launch escape system in today's Soyoz MS-10 abort-to-ground. The failure seems to occur just as LES jettison is scheduled to take place. The ...
dotancohen's user avatar
  • 6,823
18 votes
1 answer
2k views

How did the attitude system of the uncrewed Soyuz 7K-OK No.1 fail on the launch pad in 1966, killing ground staff as LES was activated?

Wikipedia has a stub article on the loss of the Soyuz 7K-OK No.1 test flight in 1966-12-14, but this part doesn't make sense to me: However, once the Soyuz rocket's engines ignited, they did not ...
LocalFluff's user avatar
21 votes
3 answers
4k views

How hard is it on the crew to go through the 14+ g's of a launchpad abort of the Soyuz, or the Falcon system?

It's only for 5 seconds, but that is an awful lot of force. The Falcon system is similar and presumably also involves very high-g forces. Could injury result from the abort itself in either case?
kim holder's user avatar
  • 21.5k
20 votes
6 answers
1k views

Why don't unmanned launch vehicles include launch escape system for payload?

Mention of Launch Escape System (LES) brings to mind images of the crew on board a spacecraft ejecting at launch; the crew being the most valuable cargo on board. Launch vehicles may also be unmanned,...
Everyone's user avatar
  • 13.7k
39 votes
4 answers
16k views

Why didn't the Space Shuttle have a launch escape system?

Since the very beginning of space exploration, rockets had some sort of Launch Escape System (LES). From this Wikipedia article, we know that Mercury and Apollo had an escape tower, while Vostok and ...
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