4 ms·
Seems to be about 3 miles from most of the launch pads to the VAB, so about 377 gallons for a one-way trip (http://www-pao.ksc.nasa.gov/nasafact/count3teaf.htm
by drv 16y ago
Seems to be about 3 miles from most of the launch pads to the VAB, so about 377 gallons for a one-way trip (http://www-pao.ksc.nasa.gov/nasafact/count3teaf.htm http://www-pao.ksc.nasa.gov/nasafact/count3teaf.htm)
The crawler can travel about 1 MPH loaded; the tour guide at KSC (at least when I was there several years ago) made a big deal about the blazing 2 MPH it can do when unloaded. :)
- spc476 16y agoThe closest observation point is three miles from the launch pads, so yes, the VAB (Vehicle Assembly Building; it's insanely large) is probably around three miles as well. Why the three mile distance? Back during the Apollo program, engineers determined that if the Saturn V were to explode on the launch pad, the resulting fireball would be around four or file miles in diameter. I think it's a similar radius for the Shuttle as well.
- snth 16y agoSo the fireball would still engulf the buildings? Doesn't that still seem too close?
- kd5bjo 16y ago3 miles away produces a 6-mile diameter safety zone.
- kylemathews 16y agoDiameter not radius. So 4-5 miles diameter = 2-2.5 miles radius.
- photon_off 16y agoThat sounds like an impossibly huge fireball for a rocket. IIRC even nukes don't create fireballs that large. Maybe I'm underestimating the amount of energy in a rocket. My guess is that the main threat would be an off course rocket, or debris from an explosion, and that the probability of damage is acceptably low 3 miles away.