Re: Son of Little Joe II



Dale wrote:

"Uh-ho". That's the last word of astronaut Michael Smith on the final flight of Space Shuttle Challenger.

If he had an abort button, perhaps he'd still be alive...



Perhaps. But I'm not sure what that abort button could have done that
would have been survivable. Neither an SRB sep nor an orbiter sep
had much chance of success, if any...



Separating the SRBs without shutting them down would have meant their exhaust and shockwaves would have annihilated the orbiter and ET as they pulled out ahead of it.
Separating the orbiter from the stack would have caused it to fall right back into the SRB exhaust with the same result.
It really needed those solid fueled abort motors and burn-through sensors on the SRBs. That might have given it a fighting chance.
In the case of Challenger even ejection seats and true pressure suits for the crew may have resulted in some survivors given the fairly intact condition of the crew compartment after vehicle break-up.

Pat
.