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PLFKING

The ultimate jump ? Would it physically be possible ?

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I'm having an argument with a few of the engineers here....I think it might be possible to jump the space shuttle launch.

If you mounted some kind of handle to the solid fuel booster....how long could you hold on before your own increasing body weight pulled you off ? Would you be able to kick away far enough from the burning fuel, or could you wear a Nomex cape and release it prior to deployment ?

And no, I'm not drunk. :)

Don
"When in doubt I whip it out,
I got me a rock-and-roll band.
It's a free-for-all."

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This is from http://spaceflight1.nasa.gov/shuttle/reference/basics/launch.html


"it takes eight seconds for the engines and boosters to accelerate the ship to 161 kilometers per hour (100 mph.) But by the time the first minute has passed, the shuttle is traveling more than 1,609 kilometers per hour (1,000 mph)"

Still think you could hold on?

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I'd say that even if you were superman, you'd most likely get your arms ripped off the second the rocket fuel ignited and gave the thing some forward motion.



Not if you were superman... he's faster then a speeding bullet... B| but I also doubt it is possible.

Scott
Livin' on the Edge... sleeping with my rigger's wife...

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A space shuttle exerts about 3 Gs on the people inside during a launch. To put it into perspective a 190 pound person being subjected to 3 Gs would would feel like they are 570 pounds. You would have to be pretty damn strong to hold that let alone be fire-proof enough to withstand 6,100 degrees of heat!
FALLATIO #13
PELT HEAD #20

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my physics are terrible but...

it accelerates to 28968 km/hr
in approximately 510 sec.
so 28968/3600 = 8.05 km/sec

then 8.05/510 =.16 km/sec^2 acceleration

earths normal gravitational acceleration is 9.8 m/s^2
which =.098 km/s^2

so, .16/.098 = 1.63 times earths normal gravity.

got that hurt. tell me I did it wrong. I dont care. :D

also I didnt factor in any other variables, and I assumed that the acceleration is constant... :S
Goddam dirty hippies piss me off! ~GFD
"What do I get for closing your rig?" ~ me
"Anything you want." ~ female skydiver
Mohoso Rodriguez #865

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Take a look at the video of the piece of foam that ultimately destroyed the Space Shuttle Columbia. The shuttle was at about 66k feet when this happened and was traveling at about 2300 feet per second. That little 1 1/2 pound piece of foam slowed down enough due to aerodynamic drag in that short distance to pulverize itself and the shuttle wing, impacting at roughly 775 feet per second. This deceleration occured in less than 2/10's of a second.

So, the aerodynamic drag on you would be incredible within the first probably ten seconds or so. Also, the g-forces would be stretching you out.

Assuming you release, you'll slow down much like that chunk of foam, but the orbiter and its boosters will not. Leaving you with probably about 2-3/10's of a second to enjoy the ride, assuming you hadn't already passed out, before you either impacy the rocket or are quickly incinerated by the exhaust. The sound alone may kill you.

Oh, also, you'd want to avoid those contrails. I hear they contain chemicals known to the government to kill you right quickly!


My wife is hotter than your wife.

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Maybe if you mounted an ejection seat to the side of the tank that would a) keep you with the rocket till exit altitude and b) propel you away from the rocket so you could avoid the flamage, but I doubt even that would work. What would it be, about a 15 second ride to altitude?

Blues,
Dave
"I AM A PROFESSIONAL EXTREME ATHLETE!"
(drink Mountain Dew)

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It seems you are all discussing "terminal" velocities and gravitational pulls. In every video I've seen, it seems to take several seconds just for the rocket to clear the tower, meaning a gradual build-up of forces. It seems to me that it might take at least 2-3000 ft. before it built up enough force to tear you away.

But I'm not a physicist, so what do I know ? It just seems doeable to me, if you could survive the contrail (I'd forgotten that word).


Don
"When in doubt I whip it out,
I got me a rock-and-roll band.
It's a free-for-all."

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The contrail is pretty important.

Also, you're ability to track away from it will certainly be affected. As you try to track away, the wind will keep blowing you down to the nozzles.

Twardo had the best surviveable solution - BASE jump it.


My wife is hotter than your wife.

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The tower is also 350 feet high.
Are those MI engineers you're debating with? Why don't you guys go try it... take your sorry excuse for a football team with you to try it out.

0-100mph in 8 seconds... I'm guessing if you had a foot-hold, you could hang out for about 20 seconds before you'd need to get off. This is all assuming the sound pressure alone doesn't kill you, then you'd just need to avoid getting toasted. I'm not sure nomex is going to help you there :D
it's like incest - you're substituting convenience for quality

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Didn't someone on this board already do this once?



Spectre230 ? No, I think he was just jumping from F-14s and MiGs, if I remember correctly. :)

Don
"When in doubt I whip it out,
I got me a rock-and-roll band.
It's a free-for-all."

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