3 ms·
Worth noting that you're talking about what's going on after the SRBs finish firing. The solids produce a lot of visible exhaust.
by greglindahl 9y ago
Worth noting that you're talking about what's going on after the SRBs finish firing. The solids produce a lot of visible exhaust.
- saagarjha 9y agoYeah, ammonium perchlorate doesn't burn as cleanly as liquid hydrogen does.
- exDM69 9y agoThe space shuttle main engines did fire at liftoff while the SRBs were firing. They may be a bit hard to see at launch but the exhaust mach diamonds are clearly visible e.g. in [0]. They were much more clearly visible in the 7-ish seconds before liftoff, after the SSMEs had been ignited but before the SRBs go off. [0] https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/d6/STS120LaunchHiRes-edit1.jpg https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/d6/STS120La...
- greglindahl 9y agoSorry, I didn't mean to imply that the SSMEs were not firing at liftoff. Since they fire for a few seconds before the SRBs get lit, I suspect most people know what's going on with them.