Author Topic: STS-126: SSME Ignition in Super Slow Mo Video  (Read 92911 times)

Online Chris Bergin

Fair few requests relating to this, following the use of a screenshot in a recent article:
http://www.nasaspaceflight.com/2008/12/sts-126-ifa-review-clean-launch-of-endeavour/

Rather than posting a better res image, as per request, Steven (Ford) has kindly created a three minute edit of the 2 hour long (330mb) video on L2 (numberous engineering angles on the pad, such as SSMEs, SRBs, Holddown Posts, even the camera inside the TSMs!) that covers that particular angle.

You'll get an idea of how slow mo this is as it covers 8 seconds in real time.

Those SSMEs are very, very cool and this is a very good shot of them building up thrust ahead of T-0.

The watermark is because youtubers love leeching without accreditation.

Enjoy!
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Offline mdrapp

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Re: STS-126: SSME Ignition in Super Slow Mo Video
« Reply #1 on: 12/17/2008 02:23 am »
You know...everytime my L2 sub lapses....something like this comes along.  Rejoining now... :D
--Michael

Offline Shuttle Scapegoat

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Re: STS-126: SSME Ignition in Super Slow Mo Video
« Reply #2 on: 12/17/2008 02:28 am »
Fair few requests relating to this,

I was one of them, thank you for this freebie, really awesome!

Offline History Buff

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Re: STS-126: SSME Ignition in Super Slow Mo Video
« Reply #3 on: 12/17/2008 03:38 am »
Absolutely beautiful. The sequence of ignition appears to be a hyrogen rich bleed of fuel before it's mixed with liquid oxygen? Or the other way around? The orange flame before the blue glow.

Creates a beautiful shape at full thrust too.

Thanks for uploading that here.

Offline Jim

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Re: STS-126: SSME Ignition in Super Slow Mo Video
« Reply #4 on: 12/17/2008 11:04 am »
Hydrogen rich, hence the need for the sparklers

Offline shuttlefan

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Re: STS-126: SSME Ignition in Super Slow Mo Video
« Reply #5 on: 12/17/2008 12:45 pm »
Hydrogen rich, hence the need for the sparklers

I think alot of folks still think the sparklers ignite the engines, but they actually ignite any free, unburned hydrogen under the engine nozzles so there's not an explosion down there at engine start. Just wanted to clarify that for anyone 'new' to shuttle launches.

Online rdale

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Re: STS-126: SSME Ignition in Super Slow Mo Video
« Reply #6 on: 12/17/2008 01:58 pm »
The timer.

Offline ETEE

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Re: STS-126: SSME Ignition in Super Slow Mo Video
« Reply #7 on: 12/17/2008 02:22 pm »
Hydrogen rich, hence the need for the sparklers

I think alot of folks still think the sparklers ignite the engines, but they actually ignite any free, unburned hydrogen under the engine nozzles so there's not an explosion down there at engine start. Just wanted to clarify that for anyone 'new' to shuttle launches.

So what does ignite the engines?
Echo Tango Echo Echo

Online Chris Bergin

Re: STS-126: SSME Ignition in Super Slow Mo Video
« Reply #8 on: 12/17/2008 02:33 pm »
Hydrogen rich, hence the need for the sparklers

I think alot of folks still think the sparklers ignite the engines, but they actually ignite any free, unburned hydrogen under the engine nozzles so there's not an explosion down there at engine start. Just wanted to clarify that for anyone 'new' to shuttle launches.

So what does ignite the engines?

Big spark plugs/torch ignitors that fire in the pre-burner inside the SSME.

From the Space Shuttle Main Engine Orientation Presentation (105 pages) on L2:

"ASI SPARK IGNITER
The spark igniter generates sparks at a rate and energy level sufficient to ignite the propellants in the
ASI chamber.
Six igniters are used on the SSME, two each (for redundancy) in the MCC and both preburners.  The
spark igniter is completely self-contained in that a 26-VDC input as provided by the controller, results in
a 10-kilovolt, 50 sparks per second output.  The igniter is hermetically sealed and welded."
« Last Edit: 12/17/2008 02:44 pm by Chris Bergin »
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Offline ETEE

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Re: STS-126: SSME Ignition in Super Slow Mo Video
« Reply #9 on: 12/17/2008 02:49 pm »
Thank you very much for that glimpse into L2 Chris.  I had always assumed that the sparklers ignited the main engines.
Echo Tango Echo Echo

Offline ugordan

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Re: STS-126: SSME Ignition in Super Slow Mo Video
« Reply #10 on: 12/17/2008 03:49 pm »
Without going into that L2 presentation now, how stable would combustion be if the igniters (in the combustion chamber) were shut down?
« Last Edit: 12/17/2008 03:49 pm by ugordan »

Offline Captain Scarlet

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Re: STS-126: SSME Ignition in Super Slow Mo Video
« Reply #11 on: 12/18/2008 01:22 pm »
Oh lordy, that's something special. I also found it beautiful, as much as I know it's a truckload of power coming out of the aft.

Offline Ford Mustang

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Re: STS-126: SSME Ignition in Super Slow Mo Video
« Reply #12 on: 12/18/2008 05:11 pm »
Oh lordy, that's something special. I also found it beautiful, as much as I know it's a truckload of power coming out of the aft.

More than just a truck.  ;)

Offline Paul Howard

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Re: STS-126: SSME Ignition in Super Slow Mo Video
« Reply #13 on: 12/21/2008 12:42 am »
Really nice clip, even if it's 3 minutes out of a two hour video. Still very impressive.

Offline Stowbridge

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Re: STS-126: SSME Ignition in Super Slow Mo Video
« Reply #14 on: 12/30/2008 12:53 am »
Very good clip. Interesting how less pronouced the bending of the stack is on this video, and also good to see the clear separation of the start up sequence of each individual engine.
Veteran space reporter.

Offline DaveJSC

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Re: STS-126: SSME Ignition in Super Slow Mo Video
« Reply #15 on: 01/23/2009 08:34 pm »
The timer.

Down to a 1000th of a second I think.

Offline John B

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Re: STS-126: SSME Ignition in Super Slow Mo Video
« Reply #16 on: 03/19/2009 10:36 pm »
Oh lordy, that's something special. I also found it beautiful, as much as I know it's a truckload of power coming out of the aft.

All engines are impressive.

Offline mongo

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Re: STS-126: SSME Ignition in Super Slow Mo Video
« Reply #17 on: 03/20/2009 06:25 pm »
In regards to the timer on the right side of the screen, can anybody help with interpretation of it or is it REALLY technical?

Offline Jim

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Re: STS-126: SSME Ignition in Super Slow Mo Video
« Reply #18 on: 03/20/2009 06:32 pm »
It is just a timer so that events can be time stamped

Offline psloss

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Re: STS-126: SSME Ignition in Super Slow Mo Video
« Reply #19 on: 03/20/2009 06:35 pm »
In regards to the timer on the right side of the screen, can anybody help with interpretation of it or is it REALLY technical?
Some of the confusion is perhaps that the numbers are inverted...from the bottom going up: hours, minutes, seconds, and so on for the time of day in GMT.  Recall that liftoff for STS-126 was in the general vicinity of 00:55:39 GMT.

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