[AR] Re: shuttle SRBs (was Re: Re: Phenolic regression rate)
- From: Henry Spencer <hspencer@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- To: Arocket List <arocket@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- Date: Sun, 4 Feb 2018 15:33:55 -0500 (EST)
On Sun, 4 Feb 2018, John Stoffel wrote:
Henry> One of the changes made after Challenger was the addition of an
Henry> auxiliary third O-ring... *both* primary
Henry> O-rings would end up pushed outward, seated in their desired
Henry> flight positions. And the putty was eliminated entirely, in
Henry> favor of a flap of solid insulation glued in place.
So how well did this all work afterwards? Were the SRBs now considered
safe again, and that burn throughs were acceptably unlikely to happen in
the future?
It worked pretty well although not 100% perfectly. Once or twice later,
there were minor indications of problems, although much milder ones that
weren't hazardous in themselves (but did provoke investigations).
Reports from astronauts say that the SRBs were never fully trusted -- on
each flight, right to the end of the program, everyone breathed a sigh of
relief at SRB jettison.
Henry
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