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I always thought "thrusters" were devices that always spewed out majestic flames and plumes of smoke whenever they are fired. I was surprised, as a kid, to lea
by cyberferret 9y ago
I always thought "thrusters" were devices that always spewed out majestic flames and plumes of smoke whenever they are fired. I was surprised, as a kid, to learn that the Voyager thrusters effectively are no more exciting that pressing the nozzle of an aerosol spray can for a split second. Stands to reason that they don't need much force to affect the spacecraft inertia at those weights and speeds.
Still, a stupendous achievement to have them still working 40 years after being deep frozen in space!
- JetSetWilly 9y agoIf you read the specs (http://www.astronautix.com/m/mr-103.html http://www.astronautix.com/m/mr-103.html) of the thrusters in question, you can see that they do "spew flames" and there is a combustion chamber: > Combustion Chamber Pressure: 4.35-23.9 atm. Combustion Chamber Temperature: 800 Celsius. Combustion Chamber Cooling Method: radiative. Duty Cycle: 0.008 sec minimum to unlimited maximum burn. 750,000 pulses.
- cyberferret 9y agoBut from what I remember reading in the past, those flames are essentially invisible in a vacuum, is that right?