Artemis_I_SLS_Core_Stage_Prep_for_Lift_Mate

A solid rocket booster (SRB) is a solid propellant motor used to provide

thrust Thrust is a reaction force described quantitatively by Newton's third law. When a system expels or accelerates mass in one direction, the accelerated mass will cause a force of equal magnitude but opposite direction to be applied to that ...

in spacecraft launches from initial launch through the first ascent. Many launch vehicles, including the

Atlas V Atlas V is an expendable launch system and the fifth major version in the Atlas (rocket family), Atlas launch vehicle family. It was developed by Lockheed Martin and has been operated by United Launch Alliance (ULA) since 2006. Primarily used to ...

, SLS and

Space Shuttle The Space Shuttle is a retired, partially reusable launch system, reusable low Earth orbital spacecraft system operated from 1981 to 2011 by the U.S. National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) as part of the Space Shuttle program. ...

, have used SRBs to give launch vehicles much of the thrust required to place the vehicle into orbit. The Space Shuttle used two Space Shuttle SRBs, which were the largest solid propellant motors ever built until the

Space Launch System The Space Launch System (SLS) is an American Super heavy-lift launch vehicle, super heavy-lift Expendable launch system, expendable launch vehicle used by NASA. As the primary launch vehicle of the Artemis program, Artemis Moon landing progra ...

and the first designed for recovery and reuse. The propellant for each solid rocket motor on the Space Shuttle weighed approximately 500,000 kilograms..

Advantages

Compared to liquid propellant rockets, the solid-propellant motors (SRMs) have been capable of providing large amounts of thrust with a relatively simple design. They provide greater thrust without significant refrigeration and insulation requirements, and produce large amounts of thrust for their size. Adding detachable SRBs to a vehicle also powered by liquid-propelled rockets known as staging reduces the amount of liquid propellant needed and lowers the launch rig mass. Solid boosters are cheaper to design, test, and produce in the long run compared to the equivalent liquid propellant boosters. Reusability of components across multiple flights, as in the Shuttle assembly, also has decreased hardware costs. One example of increased performance provided by SRBs is the

Ariane 4 The Ariane 4 was a European expendable rocket, expendable launch vehicle in the Ariane (rocket family), Ariane family, developed by the (CNES), the Government of France, French space agency, for the European Space Agency (ESA). The manufacturi ...

rocket. The basic 40 model with no additional boosters was capable of lifting a 4,795 lb (2,175 kg) payload to

geostationary transfer orbit In space mission design, a geostationary transfer orbit (GTO) or geosynchronous transfer orbit is a highly elliptical type of geocentric orbit, usually with a perigee as low as low Earth orbit (LEO) and an apogee as high as geostationary orbit ...

. The 44P model with 4 solid boosters has a payload of 7,639 lb (3,465 kg) to the same orbit.

Disadvantages

Solid propellant boosters are not controllable and must generally burn until exhaustion after ignition, unlike liquid propellant or cold-gas propulsion systems. However, launch abort systems and

range safety In rocketry, range safety or flight safety is ensured by monitoring the flight paths of missiles and launch vehicles, and enforcing strict guidelines for rocket construction and ground-based operations. Various measures are implemented to protect ...

destruct systems can attempt to cut off propellant flow by using shaped charges. estimates for SRB failure rates have ranged from 1 in 1,000 to 1 in 100,000. SRB assemblies have failed suddenly and catastrophically. Nozzle blocking or deformation can lead to overpressure or a reduction in thrust, while defects in the booster's casing or stage couplings can cause the assembly to break apart by increasing aerodynamic stresses. Additional failure modes include bore choking and combustion instability. Failure of an

O-ring An O-ring, also known as a packing or a toric joint, is a mechanical gasket in the shape of a torus; it is a loop of elastomer with a round cross section (geometry), cross-section, designed to be seated in a groove and compressed during assembl ...

seal on the ''Challenger'' space shuttle's right solid rocket booster led to its disintegration shortly after liftoff. Solid rocket motors can present a handling risk on the ground, as a fully fueled booster carries a risk of accidental ignition. Such an accident occurred in the August 2003 Brazilian rocket explosion at the Brazilian Centro de Lançamento de Alcântara VLS rocket launch pad, killing 21 technicians.VLS

Launchers that use solid rocket boosters

Some launchers use a fixed number of boosters : *

: two ( SLS Solid Rocket Boosters) *

: two ( Space Shuttle Solid Rocket Boosters) *

Ariane 5 Ariane 5 is a retired European heavy-lift space launch vehicle operated by Arianespace for the European Space Agency (ESA). It was launched from the Guiana Space Centre (CSG) in French Guiana. It was used to deliver payloads into geostationar ...

: two ( P241/P238) *

LVM3 The Launch Vehicle Mark-3 or LVM3 (previously referred as the Geosynchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle Mark III or GSLV Mk III) is a Multistage rocket, three-stage medium-lift launch vehicle developed by the ISRO, Indian Space Research Organisati ...

: two ( S200) Some launchers use a variable number of boosters depending on payload and target orbit : *

: zero, 1, 2, 3, 4, or 5 ( GEM-63) *

Delta II Delta II was an expendable launch system, originally designed and built by McDonnell Douglas, and sometimes known as the Thorad Delta 1. Delta II was part of the Delta rocket family, derived directly from the Delta 3000, and entered service in ...

. Often launched with 9 SRBs, but sometimes fewer. * Delta IV Medium: zero, 2, or 4 Graphite-Epoxy Motors (GEM 60s) strap-on boosters * PSLV: 2, 4, or 6 ( S9/S12) and S139 First Stage *

Ariane 6 Ariane 6 is a European expendable launch system developed for the European Space Agency (ESA) and manufactured by a consortium of European companies, led by the prime contractor ArianeGroup. As part of the Ariane rocket family, it is operate ...

: two or four ( P120C) * Vulcan Centaur: zero, 2, 4, or 6 ( GEM 63XL)

References

External links

HowStuffWorks : Sold Fuel Rocket Engines

* ttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PZfrxUgZSuM#t=1m20s NASA CGI video developed for the Ares program showing recovery of solid rocket booster {{DEFAULTSORT:Solid Rocket Booster Boosters (rocketry) Booster

Advantages

Disadvantages

Launchers that use solid rocket boosters

See also

References

External links