5 ms·
Why is it shaped like this? Why the fire seems to be not exactly in center and how it managed to keep balance with that?
by smusamashah 6y ago
Why is it shaped like this?
Why the fire seems to be not exactly in center and how it managed to keep balance with that?
- randallsquared 6y agoThe fire is off center because they only installed one of the three engines that it would normally use, but didn't build a custom, centered engine mount.
- db48x 6y agoIt's a prototype of the lower half of a larger rocket, and it's not intended to fly very high or fast, so it doesn't need a nice nose-cone. The single rocket engine is mounted in the center, and it gimbals to the side to make the rocket move sideways. The on-board computer is balancing the whole rocket on that flame the whole time, adjusting it continuously to keep everything in balance and the rocket moving towards the landing zone; imagine balancing a pencil on your fingertip. The real rocket will have a lot more than just one engine, but for this test they only needed the one.