4 ms·
Falcons are held down at full throttle for three seconds prior to launch, to ensure that everything is working perfectly before letting go. (They've aborted dur
by nkoren 9y ago
Falcons are held down at full throttle for three seconds prior to launch, to ensure that everything is working perfectly before letting go. (They've aborted during this period in the past, although that was a long while ago.) As far as I know, this is unique among launch vehicles. I presume (but do not know for certain) that they will do the same for the heavy.
- JshWright 9y agoWell, they're held down as they are throttling up. They aren't at full throttle the whole time.
- JshWright 9y agoAdditionally... Many liquid fueled rockets can abort on the launch pad after ignition, but before the clamps release. The shuttle, for instance, had 5 aborts after main engine start (once the SRBs lit though, the shuttle was going up, one way or another).