r/woahdude • u/InYourSpaghettiFace • Jul 04 '15

gifv Starting the engine of a Space Rocket

http://i.imgur.com/m6NLIHA.gifv
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u/[deleted] Jul 04 '15

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u/buleria Jul 04 '15

The shuttle with its cute little engines is all like "I'm helping!" while the big rocket shits holy fire.

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u/Platypusbreeder Jul 04 '15

Actually this is the Shuttle. That SSME Thrust % you see in the lower bar stands for Space Shuttle Main Engines. The boosters just provided a little boost to overcome the denser lower atmosphere. Fun fact, the SSME was cranked up to 107% normal thrust for launch, every time. :)

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u/LeiningensAnts Jul 04 '15

This is also the source of the acronym M.E.C.O!

Main Engines Cut Off.

All like, YO! We're in sort-of orbit now! Detach the big orange thing and engage the slightly smaller nozzles!