Rockets, Racecars, And The Physics Of Going Fast

Rockets, Racecars, and the Physics of Going Fast

The SLS rocket and Orion spacecraft launch off Launch Pad 39B at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center on November 16, 2022, beginning the Artemis I mission. The ignition from the rocket’s two boosters and four engines lights up the night sky. Smoke is seen building up from the ground as the rocket takes flight. Image credit: NASA/Joel Kowsky

When our Space Launch System (SLS) rocket launches the Artemis missions to the Moon, it can have a top speed of more than six miles per second. Rockets and racecars are designed with speed in mind to accomplish their missions—but there’s more to speed than just engines and fuel. Learn more about the physics of going fast:

The SLS rocket and Orion spacecraft launch from the launch pad at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center on November 16, 2022, beginning the Artemis I mission. This is a close-up view of the solid rocket boosters and RS-25 engines ignited for flight. Image credit: NASA/Joel Kowsky

Take a look under the hood, so to speak, of our SLS mega Moon rocket and you’ll find that each of its four RS-25 engines have high-pressure turbopumps that generate a combined 94,400 horsepower per engine. All that horsepower creates more than 2 million pounds of thrust to help launch our four Artemis astronauts inside the Orion spacecraft beyond Earth orbit and onward to the Moon. How does that horsepower compare to a racecar? World champion racecars can generate more than 1,000 horsepower as they speed around the track.

This GIF shows the four RS_25 engines on the SLS rocket igniting one by one as they prepare to launch Artemis I. A red glow comes from below the engines as they ignite. Image credit: NASA

As these vehicles start their engines, a series of special machinery is moving and grooving inside those engines. Turbo engines in racecars work at up to 15,000 rotations per minute, aka rpm. The turbopumps on the RS-25 engines rotate at a staggering 37,000 rpm. SLS’s RS-25 engines will burn for approximately eight minutes, while racecar engines generally run for 1 ½-3 hours during a race.

NASA engineers test a model of the Space Launch System rocket in a wind tunnel at NASA’s Langley Research Center. The image is taken from a test camera. Image credit: NASA

To use that power effectively, both rockets and racecars are designed to slice through the air as efficiently as possible.

While rockets want to eliminate as much drag as possible, racecars carefully use the air they’re slicing through to keep them pinned to the track and speed around corners faster. This phenomenon is called downforce.

This GIF shows a full-scale solid rocket booster being tested at Northrop Grumman’s facility in Utah. The booster, laying horizontal, ignites and fires. Image credit: Northrop Grumman

Steering these mighty machines is a delicate process that involves complex mechanics.

Most racecars use a rack-and-pinion system to convert the turn of a steering wheel to precisely point the front tires in the right direction. While SLS doesn’t have a steering wheel, its powerful engines and solid rocket boosters do have nozzles that gimbal, or move, to better direct the force of the thrust during launch and flight.

Members of the Artemis I launch control team monitor data at their consoles inside the Launch Control Center at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center during the first launch attempt countdown on August 29. Image credit: NASA/Kim Shiflett

Racecar drivers and astronauts are laser focused, keeping their sights set on the destination. Pit crews and launch control teams both analyze data from numerous sensors and computers to guide them to the finish line. In the case of our mighty SLS rocket, its 212-foot-tall core stage has nearly 1,000 sensors to help fly, track, and guide the rocket on the right trajectory and at the right speed. That same data is relayed to launch teams on the ground in real time. Like SLS, world-champion racecars use hundreds of sensors to help drivers and teams manage the race and perform at peak levels.

Rockets, Racecars, And The Physics Of Going Fast

Knowing how to best use, manage, and battle the physics of going fast, is critical in that final lap. You can learn more about rockets and racecars here.

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Moonbound: One Year Since Artemis I

On this day last year, the Artemis I rocket and spacecraft lit up the sky and embarked on the revolutionary mission to the Moon and back. The first integrated flight test of the rocket and spacecraft continued for 25.5 days, validating NASA’s deep exploration systems and setting the stage for humanity’s return to the lunar surface.

NASA’s Space Launch System rocket carrying the Orion spacecraft launches on the Artemis I flight test, Wednesday, Nov. 16, 2022, from Launch Complex 39B at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The ignition of the boosters fill the image with a bright golden glow. The night sky is black in the background. Credit: NASA/Joel Kowsky

On Nov. 16, 2022, the Space Launch System (SLS) rocket met or exceeded all expectations during its debut launch on Artemis I. The twin solid rocket booster motors responsible for producing more than 7 million pounds of thrust at liftoff reached their performance target, helping SLS and the Orion spacecraft reach a speed of about 4,000 mph in just over two minutes before the boosters separated.

The interior of the Orion spacecraft, bathed in a soft blue light. The back of Commander Moonikin Campos’ head can be seen from behind the commander’s seat. He is wearing an orange Orion Crew Survival System spacesuit and is facing the display of the Callisto payload, Lockheed Martin’s technology demonstration in collaboration with Amazon and Cisco. A Snoopy doll can be seen floating in the background. Credit: NASA

Quite a few payloads caught a ride aboard the Orion spacecraft on the Artemis I mission: In addition to a number of small scientific satellites called CubeSats, a manikin named Commander Moonikin Campos sat in the commander’s seat. A Snoopy doll served as a zero-gravity indicator — something that floats inside the spacecraft to demonstrate microgravity.

On flight day 13 of the Artemis I mission, Orion captured this view of Earth and the Moon on either sides of one of the spacecraft’s four solar arrays. The spacecraft is white and gray and stands out against the blackness of space. Credit: NASA

During the mission, Orion performed two lunar flybys, coming within 80 miles of the lunar surface. At its farthest distance during the mission, Orion traveled nearly 270,000 miles from our home planet, more than 1,000 times farther than where the International Space Station orbits Earth. This surpassed the record for distance traveled by a spacecraft designed to carry humans, previously set during Apollo 13.

After splashing down at 12:40 p.m. EST on Dec. 11, 2022, U.S. Navy divers help recover the Orion Spacecraft for the Artemis I mission. NASA, the Navy and other Department of Defense partners worked together to secure the spacecraft inside the well deck of USS Portland approximately five hours after Orion splashed down in the Pacific Ocean off the coast of California. Credit: NASA/Josh Valcarcel

The Orion spacecraft arrived back home to planet Earth on Dec. 11, 2022. During re-entry, Orion endured temperatures about half as hot as the surface of the Sun at about 5,000 degrees Fahrenheit. Within about 20 minutes, Orion slowed from nearly 25,000 mph to about 20 mph for its parachute-assisted splashdown.

Inside the Multi-Payload Processing Facility at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida, engineers and technicians opened the hatch of the Orion spacecraft for the Artemis I mission after a 1.4-million mile journey beyond the Moon and back. Technicians extracted nine avionics boxes from the Orion, which will subsequently be refurbished for Artemis II, the first mission with astronauts. Contents include a video processing unit, GPS receiver, four crew module phased array antennas, and three Orion inertial measurement units. Credit: NASA

Recovery teams successfully retrieved the spacecraft and delivered it back to NASA’s Kennedy Space Center for de-servicing operations, which included removing the payloads (like Snoopy and Commander Moonikin Campos) and analyzing the heat shield.

Artemis II astronauts, from left, NASA astronaut Victor Glover (left), CSA (Canadian Space Agency) astronaut Jeremy Hansen, NASA astronauts Christina Koch and Reid Wiseman stand on the crew access arm of the mobile launcher at Launch Pad 39B as part of an integrated ground systems test at Kennedy Space Center in Florida on Wednesday, Sept. 20. The test ensures the ground systems team is ready to support the crew timeline on launch day. Credit: NASA/Frank Michaux

With the Artemis I mission under our belt, we look ahead to Artemis II — our first crewed mission to the Moon in over 50 years. Four astronauts will fly around the Moon inside Orion, practicing piloting the spacecraft and validating the spacecraft’s life support systems. The Artemis II crew includes: NASA astronauts Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover, and Christina Koch, and CSA astronaut Jeremy Hansen.

As we look ahead to Artemis II, we build upon the incredible success of the Artemis I mission and recognize the hard work and achievements of the entire Artemis team. Go Artemis!

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2 years ago

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misscounterfactual

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Moonbound: One Year Since Artemis I

As we look ahead to Artemis II, we build upon the incredible success of the Artemis I mission and recognize the hard work and achievements of the entire Artemis team. Go Artemis!

Make sure to follow us on Tumblr for your regular dose of space!

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misscounterfactual

1 year ago

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What Makes the Artemis Moon Mission NASA's Next Leap Forward?

From left to right: A grey hollow pyramid-shaped lightning tower, the white Orion spacecraft and the top of the Space Launch System (SLS) rocket in orange, the Moon in faint white and gray, the Mobile Launcher with many pipes and levels in gray and red. The background is blue skies. Credit: NASA/Ben Smegelsky

When NASA astronauts return to the Moon through Artemis, they will benefit from decades of innovation, research, and technological advancements. We’ll establish long-term lunar science and exploration capabilities at the Moon and inspire a new generation of explorers—the Artemis Generation.

Cloudy skies are the backdrop behind the SLS rocket and Orion spacecraft, which is reflected in the windows of a vehicle to the left of the photo. The SLS is orange with two white boosters on either side, and the spacecraft is white, next to a gray pyramid-shaped lightning tower and Mobile Launcher with many pipes and levels in gray and red. Credit: NASA/Aubrey Gemignani

Meet the Space Launch System rocket, or SLS. This next-generation super heavy-lift rocket was designed to send astronauts and their cargo farther into deep space than any rocket we’ve ever built. During liftoff, SLS will produce 8.8 million pounds (4 million kg) of maximum thrust, 15 percent more than the Saturn V rocket.

The SLS rocket and Orion spacecraft sit inside the Vehicle Assembly Building (VAB) at Kennedy Space Center. The rocket is orange, with two white boosters on either side. The Orion Spacecraft is at the top and white. The VAB has many levels with walkways, pipes, and structures around the rocket. Credit: NASA/Kim Shiflett

SLS will launch the Orion spacecraft into deep space. Orion is the only spacecraft capable of human deep space flight and high-speed return to Earth from the vicinity of the Moon. More than just a crew module, Orion has a launch abort system to keep astronauts safe if an emergency happens during launch, and a European-built service module, which is the powerhouse that fuels and propels Orion and keeps astronauts alive with water, oxygen, power, and temperature control.

The Space Launch System rocket stands upright on the launchpad. The background is the sky dominated by clouds. The rocket has an orange central fuel tank with two white rocket boosters on either side. The Crawler-Transporter 2 is in the foreground with its massive tread-like wheels. Credit: NASA/Kim Shiflett

Orion and SLS will launch from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida with help from Exploration Ground Systems (EGS) teams. EGS operates the systems and facilities necessary to process and launch rockets and spacecraft during assembly, transport, launch, and recovery.

An artist's depiction of Gateway, the Moon-orbiting space station. Gateway is seen in gray with red solar arrays; behind it, the Moon is gray, black, and white, as well as the blackness of space. Credit: NASA/Alberto Bertolin

The knowledge we've gained while operating the International Space Station has opened new opportunities for long-term exploration of the Moon's surface. Gateway, a vital component of our Artemis plans, is a Moon-orbiting space station that will serve as a staging post for human expeditions to the lunar surface. Crewed and uncrewed landers that dock to Gateway will be able to transport crew, cargo, and scientific equipment to the surface.

An artist's depiction of astronauts working on the Moon. The astronaut suits are white with silver helmets; they work on the gray lunar surface. Credit: NASA

Our astronauts will need a place to live and work on the lunar surface. Artemis Base Camp, our first-ever lunar science base, will include a habitat that can house multiple astronauts and a camper van-style vehicle to support long-distance missions across the Moon’s surface. Apollo astronauts could only stay on the lunar surface for a short while. But as the Artemis base camp evolves, the goal is to allow crew to stay at the lunar surface for up to two months at a time.

Astronaut Mark Vande Hei takes a selfie in front of Earth during the first spacewalk of 2018. His suit is white, the reflective helmet silver, and Earth is blue with white clouds. Credit: NASA

The Apollo Program gave humanity its first experience traveling to a foreign world. Now, America and the world are ready for the next era of space exploration. NASA plans to send the first woman and first person of color to the lunar surface and inspire the next generation of explorers.

An artist's depiction of Orion traversing above the surface of the Moon, with Earth in the background. Orion is white and gray, the Moon's shadowy surface is white and black, and the Earth is surrounded by the blackness of space and is faintly blue and black. Credit: NASA/Liam Yanulis

Our next adventure starts when SLS and Orion roar off the launch pad with Artemis I. Together with commercial and international partners, NASA will establish a long-term presence on the Moon to prepare for missions to Mars. Everything we’ve learned, and everything we will discover, will prepare us to take the next giant leap: sending the first astronauts to Mars.

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