4 ms·
A rocket is a lot easier to design for (in a weird way) -- after all, it only has to deal with zero to one atmosphere, instead of 150 atmospheres.
by kotaKat 3y ago
A rocket is a lot easier to design for (in a weird way) -- after all, it only has to deal with zero to one atmosphere, instead of 150 atmospheres.
- me_me_me 3y agoAre you forgetting that little something at the back of rocket that is so hot it can melt itself? Even managing propellant tanks is complicated dilema. Take a big jug of water that is half full and slosh it around. Its one of thousands small things that needs solving. And solutions need to be implemented with as few grams as possible.
- panick21_ 3y agoA rocket is easier because it doesn't have people in it. But if there are not people, its much harder.
- engineer_22 3y agoYou're right, rocket engineering is not as simple as some people would have it sound. I think the SpaceX organization has proven to be prudent risk takers. They have had many spectacular failures, but they have been good at communicating the risks ahead of time.
- wkat4242 3y agoMake that 450 actually :)
- barelyauser 3y agoJames Cameron spent 10M to built his submarine. It is impossible at present time to build a orbital manned rocket for that amount. Therefore the submarine is easier to design and build.
- panick21_ 3y agoAnd that had people in it. A rocket and capsule you can put people on is gone cost you billions.
- dev_tty01 3y agoHmm. The pressure inside a Merlin engine is about 1410 psi (about 88 atmospheres) and the temperatures inside the engine reach 2200 C. The turbopumps in the engine spin at about 3600 rpm and produce about 10,000 horsepower, which is just used to pump fuel into the main combustion chamber. Each Merlin engine produces about 200,000 pounds of thrust and is still reusable. Just starting a rocket engine is a complicated dance that can easily turn out badly if not handled with extreme precision. Sorry, but I don't think there is any way one can equate the complexity of a diving bell with that of a rocket.
- OGWhales 3y agoRelevant Futurama scene: https://youtu.be/7GDthiBGMz8 https://youtu.be/7GDthiBGMz8
- rbanffy 3y agoIt's good if a spacecraft has a little bit of extra margin, at least for atmospheric braking.
- saalweachter 3y agoA spacecraft has to deal with zero to one atmospheres. A rocket has to deal with rocket thrust/structural cross-section units of pressure. I'm neither a engineer nor informed about the structure of a Falcon 9, but that number is > 1 atm even if the entire cross-section is structural.