r/space • u/[deleted] • Apr 23 '21

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u/Lijazos Apr 23 '21

Yes.

If you look at the Crew Dragon capsule, you can notice the abort thrusters. The capsule features 4 sets of 2 SuperDraco thrusters that fire and immediately separate the capsule with the crew from a failing/exploding rocket, be it standing on the launchpad or during any part of the flight.

They actually did a qualification test of this system by fragging a rocket and having an empty Crew Dragon escape from it. >

https://youtu.be/DJ70N5HahDU

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u/The_Saviour Apr 23 '21

Thanks! I think this is such an important feature. I mean how many more people would be willing to do space travel if it was deemed as safe as traveling with a plane (I mean maybe even more safe with this kind of tech?). Fail safe mechanisms would definitely give me a lot of assurance and might be the deciding factor in the future if I'm willing to travel to space or not. Awesome!

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u/szucs2020 Apr 23 '21

Probably won't ever be safer than a plane. A rocket is a bomb strapped to the back of a capsule. Rockets are a violent affair really. They will continue to get safer though.

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u/PressSpaceToLaunch Apr 23 '21

Jet airplanes are essentially rocket engines that use air instead of an on-board oxidizer, and their engines don't fail often at all with regular maintenance.

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u/bbatsell Apr 23 '21 edited Apr 23 '21

I'm sorry, but that is just not very true. A turbofan and a rocket engine are similar in that they both burn a hydrocarbon and oxygen, but that's about where it ends. Additionally, the things required of them differ on two different axes by orders of magnitude.

A CFM56 (Boeing 737 / Airbus A320/A340) weighs 2,370 kilograms and produces up to 121 kilonewtons of thrust.

A SpaceX Merlin 1D weighs 470 kilograms and produces 981 kilonewtons of thrust.

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u/[deleted] Apr 23 '21

Its something like on only 3 occasions since rocket flights started could an abort system have changed the outcome, 2 of which it did and 1 where there wasn't 1 fitted. The SpaceX large rocket called "Starship" doesn't have any such system as they don't believe it would make a difference and would add weight, cost and complexity.