[AR] Re: Long March 2F panel ejection?
- From: Henry Spencer <hspencer@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- To: Arocket List <arocket@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- Date: Mon, 17 Oct 2016 12:55:46 -0400 (EDT)
On Mon, 17 Oct 2016, Ed Kelleher wrote:
Was watching the Shenzhou 11 launch and saw some white panels falling off the
vehicle just a few seconds after liftoff...
...non cryo propellants, so don't think it would be pre-launch insulation.
Don't be too sure of that. If you look at photos of old Ariane launches
(before Ariane 5), you'll see panels falling off the second stage -- they
*are* insulation, meant to keep the second-stage propellants (N2O4/UDMH)
from warming up to Kourou daytime ambient temperatures! In effect, the
old Ariane second stage used slightly-chilled propellants, to get a bit
more mass into the same tanks and/or keep the N2O4 pressure down (not sure
which was the more important issue). Could be that some of the Long
Marches do the same thing.
Henry
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