3 ms·
> The O ring was a necessary pressure valve (...) Do I understand correctly that you're saying that the O-ring would be necessary even if the SRBs were constru
by robryk 8y ago
> The O ring was a necessary pressure valve (...)
Do I understand correctly that you're saying that the O-ring would be necessary even if the SRBs were constructed as a single long tube, instead of segments that are assembled together?
If so, would you mind expanding on that? I was under the impression that the only reason the whole O-ring and caulking of the joints was necessary was the existence of the joints.
- inteleng 8y agoThere's always going to be a nozzle on a solid booster, and it usually can't be welded to the maintube. Thus, a gasket is always going to be present.
- jedberg 8y agoI'm not a rocket scientist so I might be wrong, but I'm pretty sure the O ring would be required no matter how it was constructed.
- 0xffff2 8y agoWhy do you think that? As the person you replied to said, the only reason the O-ring is there at all is to seal the joint between the sections. If the join't didn't exist, there would be no reason at all for there to be a rubber ring embedded in the structure.
- oh_sigh 8y agoAnd if the politicians didn't vote to build the SRBs in Utah, then maybe there would be no SRB at all, which is a good method to prevent deaths from SRBs.
- jedberg 8y agoBecause that spot on the SRB is a flex joint to allow some movement of the nozzle as the engine fires. The joint isn't there because of transportation or other reasons.
- robryk 8y agoThat spot was the "aft field joint" according to wikipedia. According to the diagram linked[1] that is distinct from the case-to-nozzle joint. [1] https://science.ksc.nasa.gov/shuttle/technology/sts-newsref/sts_asm.html#srb_mod_compare https://science.ksc.nasa.gov/shuttle/technology/sts-newsref/...
- askvictor 8y agoI'm no rocket scientist either, but happened to be reading in depth about SRBs in general and Challenger in particular, and my understanding is: the joint in question was a field joint, to be assembled in the field, as opposed to factory joints which were assembled in the factory. The construction of these joints were different (asbestos insulation vs O-rings). The differing design is due to transportation and logistics.