On Tue, 20 Jan 2009 22:37:46 -0600, Pat Flannery
wrote:


Assuming they have time to react, and then assuming a supersonic piece
of flaming SRB doesn't shatter the LES...

To reach the LES, the piece would have to travel through the upper
stage...then through the Orion spacecraft itself.

Way too many variables to say that with any authority, I think.

If chamber pressure falls and triggers an abort, and then the SRB lets
go, you have a very exposed Orion/LES, pitching over to get out of the
way from an expected on-rushing Ares I, which instead of on-rushing in
one piece, is on-rushing in a few hundred thousand flaming pieces each
on slightly different trajectories. The upper stage won't take them
all.

But its the "time to react" problem that really has me worried.

Brian