David.Smith@CMU-10A@sri-unix (05/14/82)
From: David.Smith at CMU-10A (C410DS30) Rating rockets in horsepower is mainly useful for producing impressive numbers. The horsepower equivalent of a pound of thrust is directly proportional to the velocity. When the SSMEs are firing on the pad with the holddowns on, the SSMEs produce zero horsepower. But 3 x 430,000 pounds applied at 17,000 mph comes to 58,480,000 horsepower.