Hi, I am trying to find information on how far from the launch site spent stages typically land. I know rocket stages launched from the US typically land in the ocean, but how far from the launch site? Information on how far the space shuttle srbs went would be extra nice, but im also interested in where for example Atlas V or Delta IV stages land. SpaceX is of course a different story. Thanks in advance for replying.
It depends very greatly on how high and fast the staging occurs.
So it depends on both the rocket and the trajectory where the payload is going (smaller payload to higher energy trajectory means staging at higher speed and altitude)
SRBs which have quite low isp and burn for a very short time always fly very short distance, probably less than 200km.
But stages that stage late, such as the center stage of Delta IV Heavy, or core stage of some Atlas V 551 typically fly well over 1000 kilometer, maybe even couple of thousand kilometers.
And the Shuttle external tank flew almost halfway around the earth.
In the case of Baikonur, the Altai region had the bad luck of being downrange and thus it was peppered with spent Proton stages and toxic storables.
Russianspaceweb has a very detailed page about downrange Baikonur, spent stages, and drop zones.
http://www.russianspaceweb.com/baikonur_downrange.html
In the case of Baikonur, the Altai region had the bad luck of being downrange and thus it was peppered with spent Proton stages and toxic storables.
Russianspaceweb has a very detailed page about downrange Baikonur, spent stages, and drop zones.
http://www.russianspaceweb.com/baikonur_downrange.html
Thank you for the link. I didn't know about this! O.о