MaverickSawyer
Acolyte of the Probe
That's the abort motor. They didn't have any other spot to put it, and it will hopefully never get used.
EDIT: :ninja:'d by Urwumpe. :lol:
EDIT: :ninja:'d by Urwumpe. :lol:
Article here:
Take a Peek Inside Blue Origin’s New Shepard Crew Capsule.
Published: 29 Mar , 2017
by Nancy Atkinson
http://www.universetoday.com/134783/take-peek-inside-blue-origins-new-shepard-crew-capsule/
I don't get that engine in the center of the picture. Why would it be on the inside of the capsule?
Bob Clark
I don't know but I don't think NASA or the FAA would be too pleased with that arrangement. For one thing solid rockets have been known to undergo chamber breeches during combustion.
Imagine hot combustion gases being aimed directly at the passengers.
Bob Clark
I don't know but I don't think NASA or the FAA would be too pleased with that arrangement.
For one thing solid rockets have been known to undergo chamber breeches during combustion.
I doubt NASA has a word to say about New Shepard... anyway, solid rockets have been known to go boom, liquid rockets have been known to go boom... I doubt the passengers will care much about what the propellant is, and more that the escape rocket fires.
...
Also, you can see how reliable solid rocket motors can be by one tiny fact: The smaller brother of them is installed multiple times in almost every car you see. A solid gas generator is just a solid rocket motor designed for fast combustion and low gas temperatures. They are used in airbags and for tensioning the seatbelts during collisions.
Probably the example of an airbag is not the best example to use of safety currently.
Then think of the abort motor as a higher-performance version of a Star-series motor. When was the last time one of those blew up?
Things are getting interesting.
SpaceX is run by a James Bond villain, vs. Blue Origin, run by Superman's archenemy, Lex Luthor!
The second richest man in the world now. BTW, how can Bezos be worth that much when Amazon is constantly losing money?
The second richest man in the world now. BTW, how can Bezos be worth that much when Amazon is constantly losing money?
From what I read Amazon has never been profitable in its 20 year history.
would say two factors there are obvious:
Volume and
CoG
The motor needs a specific geometry to get the right thrust curve. you can of course try to fit a SRM into a more complex geometry, but that not just increases costs for manufacturing, you also can't just buy the motor from the shelf.
So, the motor has to be installed somewhere where enough room exists for it.
Next, once you have an abort, the motor will burn fuel, get lighter and the CoG shifts. If you have the CoG of this motor near the CoG of the capsule, you have less problems there. Would you install it under deck, the CoG would rise quickly during the abort and controlling the capsule would get harder.