Vapor as rocket propellant and coolant

On 2004-07-06, Andrew Nowicki wrote:

Are you talking about the first stage, the second stage,
or the third stage? The external tanks of the Space
Shuttle do not survive the reentry, and even the orbiters
do not always survive the reentry. On the other hand the
Shuttle's solid rocket boosters do survive reentry and
splashdown.

There is, I believe, some concern that the ET may survive the re-entry
in parts, but that aside. (It's deliberately tumbled to assist in
breakup)

The SRBs are dropped at about 120s into the ascent; the ET at about
510s. I can't find an indication of the speed at which the SRBs
seperate, but the ET seperation is at ~17,500mph and orbital altitude;
significantly different entry regimes.

--
-Andrew Gray

Andrew Nowicki wrote in message ...

Nobody mentioned electron beam welding.
I am not a welding expert, but I have
seen web publications claiming that it
makes welds of outstanding quality.

Electron beam welding dodges some of the problems of other welding
methods, but it doesn't get away from others, like heat inputs and
temperature controls.

Everyone believes that the pressure-fed rockets
must have low tank pressure to improve their
mass ratio.

If you're staging, it's not as much of an issue. I initially thought
you were discussing SSTOs here.

Mike Miller, Materials Engineer