alb@alice.UUCP (10/13/83)
Tests on the faulty STS-8 SRB were inconclusive this week, NASA said, and hopes for a 28 October launch are becoming very dim. If postponed, the next available date would be 28 November, and after that, sometime next February.
alb@alice.UUCP (10/23/83)
What they would do in the event of an SRB malfunction depends on where they are in the ascent. If they were to turn around and attempt a landing at KSC, the entire assembly would probably be shed and, when they were clear of it, destroyed by range safety. If they were high enough to achieve orbit on only the main engines, just the SRB's would be shed and destroyed. If they were to try and land at Rota, Spain, or Dakar, Senegal, they would again need the main engine, so just the SRB's would be jettisoned.
stephen@alberta (10/25/83)
Does anyone know what sort of simulations have they done for SRB loss/malfunction have they done for the shuttle and what sort of recovery techniques have they come up with? If the SRB had gone nuts, would they have ejected the SRB's seperate from the external tank or would they drop the entire set in one shot? Stephen Samuel (alberta!stephen)