A new video shows what it would look like if four rocket types were transparent during liftoff and stage separation — even showing how the fuel drains as the rockets keep firing.
The fascinating animation compares the following four rockets from left to right:
- Saturn V, a US-made super heavy-lift vehicle used by NASA between 1967 and 1973
- The Space Shuttle, NASA’s space plane that retired back in 2011
- SpaceX’s Falcon Heavy, a super heavy-lift vehicle
- NASA’s Space Launch System (SLS), the space agency’s upcoming heavy lift rocket that has been under development since the Space Shuttle retired in 2011
The video color-codes a number of different rocket fuel types being used up by the rockets’ various stages.
- Red is kerosene RP-1, a highly refined form of kerosene similar to jet fuel.
- Orange is liquid hydrogen (LH2), a common rocket fuel used by NASA. Interestingly, it first cools the nozzle of the rocket before being ignited by an oxidizer.
- Blue is liquid oxygen (LOX), the liquid form of diatomic oxygen that often is used as oxidizer for the liquid hydrogen in rockets such as NASA’s workhorse RS-25, an engine that was used for the Space Shuttle.
NASA’s upcoming SLS will mix both LH2 and LOX to produce a massive amount of energy — and water.
Due to the extremely low density of LH2, NASA’s SLS would need a gigantic fuel tank. To mitigate that, designers gave the rocket two boosters on either side, a design derivative of NASA’s retired Space Shuttle.
Both SpaceX’s Falcon Heavy and the Saturn V use a refined version of kerosene as a first stage, a stage that gets jettisoned at a certain altitude.
Burning kerosene comes with a heavy toll on the environment as burning it creates immense amounts of carbon dioxide — a problem that could be compounded if SpaceX’s plan to launch a rocket every two weeks ever comes to fruition.
The animator behind the video even thought to include a tiny little red Tesla Roadster — a car famously launched into space in 2018 by SpaceX CEO Elon Musk.
Editor’s note 5/14/2020: A previous version of this story wrongly stated that SpaceX’s Heavy Falcon will carry NASA astronauts into space later this month. It will in fact be a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket.
READ MORE: If Rockets were Transparent [YouTube]
More on rockets: Dock a SpaceX Spacecraft to the ISS in This Amazing Simulator
The post Amazing Vid Shows What You’d See If Rockets Were Transparent appeared first on Futurism.
Continue reading here:
Amazing Vid Shows What You’d See If Rockets Were Transparent
- Futurist Serata featuring artist Luca Buvoli at Brown (Nov. 20) [Last Updated On: November 7th, 2009] [Originally Added On: November 7th, 2009]
- FUTUR1SM00GGI [Last Updated On: November 8th, 2009] [Originally Added On: November 8th, 2009]
- ‘Futurism on Film’ Series this month in NYC [Last Updated On: November 8th, 2009] [Originally Added On: November 8th, 2009]
- Schedule of Futurist Events in NYC (PERFORMA 09: Nov 1-22) [Last Updated On: November 8th, 2009] [Originally Added On: November 8th, 2009]
- ‘Futurismo/Futurizm: The Futurist Avant-Garde in Italy and Russia’ (Nov. 13 + 14) [Last Updated On: November 8th, 2009] [Originally Added On: November 8th, 2009]
- ‘Beyond Futurism: F.T. Marinetti, Writer’ conference at Columbia (Nov. 12+13) [Last Updated On: November 8th, 2009] [Originally Added On: November 8th, 2009]
- Futurism and Cars at the Museo Nicolis [Last Updated On: November 8th, 2009] [Originally Added On: November 8th, 2009]
- MoMA Film Series Marks Centenary of Futurism with Films [Last Updated On: November 8th, 2009] [Originally Added On: November 8th, 2009]
- ‘Bergson+Futurism. Speed in thought’ - Madrid (Nov. 5) [Last Updated On: November 8th, 2009] [Originally Added On: November 8th, 2009]
- ‘The Future in Five Senses: Echoes of Italian Futurism in New York Architecture and Design’ Nov. 16th NYC [Last Updated On: November 8th, 2009] [Originally Added On: November 8th, 2009]
- New World-Wide Climate Treaty in 2010 More Likely [Last Updated On: November 8th, 2009] [Originally Added On: November 8th, 2009]
- Tar Sands CCS Myth Shattered [Last Updated On: November 8th, 2009] [Originally Added On: November 8th, 2009]
- Smart Grid and Smart Meters Get Big Grants [Last Updated On: November 8th, 2009] [Originally Added On: November 8th, 2009]
- Pollution Makes Methane Even More Dangerous [Last Updated On: November 8th, 2009] [Originally Added On: November 8th, 2009]
- Climate Change Bill Hearing Video [Last Updated On: November 8th, 2009] [Originally Added On: November 8th, 2009]
- New Satellite to Monitor Water and Plant Growth [Last Updated On: November 8th, 2009] [Originally Added On: November 8th, 2009]
- Spiritual Battle Awaits the Deniers and Skeptics [Last Updated On: November 8th, 2009] [Originally Added On: November 8th, 2009]
- Effects of Climate Change are Observed World-Wide [Last Updated On: November 8th, 2009] [Originally Added On: November 8th, 2009]
- Get Yer Global Warming Science Here [Last Updated On: November 8th, 2009] [Originally Added On: November 8th, 2009]
- TckTckTck Wake up Call — Delay Kills [Last Updated On: November 8th, 2009] [Originally Added On: November 8th, 2009]
- Canada’s Awful Gold Rush [Last Updated On: November 8th, 2009] [Originally Added On: November 8th, 2009]
- Climate Change Talks Spark Global Backlash by Businesses [Last Updated On: November 8th, 2009] [Originally Added On: November 8th, 2009]
- World May Need Extra Year for Climate Treaty [Last Updated On: November 8th, 2009] [Originally Added On: November 8th, 2009]
- Senator Boxer Moves Climate Bill Despite Republican Obstructionism [Last Updated On: November 8th, 2009] [Originally Added On: November 8th, 2009]
- Lights out for incandescent lights? [Last Updated On: November 8th, 2009] [Originally Added On: November 8th, 2009]
- Sutures from Bacteria [Last Updated On: November 8th, 2009] [Originally Added On: November 8th, 2009]
- Remote-Controlled Pigeons [Last Updated On: November 8th, 2009] [Originally Added On: November 8th, 2009]
- Apple Announces iPhone Release Date [Last Updated On: November 8th, 2009] [Originally Added On: November 8th, 2009]
- UK Government Envisions a Grim Future [Last Updated On: November 8th, 2009] [Originally Added On: November 8th, 2009]
- Top Ten Emerging Technologies for the Environment [Last Updated On: November 8th, 2009] [Originally Added On: November 8th, 2009]
- DIY Mobile Networks [Last Updated On: November 8th, 2009] [Originally Added On: November 8th, 2009]
- Stem-Cell Treatment Cures Type 1 Diabetes [Last Updated On: November 8th, 2009] [Originally Added On: November 8th, 2009]
- Is Tesla Getting the Electric Car Right? [Last Updated On: November 8th, 2009] [Originally Added On: November 8th, 2009]
- The Future of TV News [Last Updated On: November 8th, 2009] [Originally Added On: November 8th, 2009]
- Bruce Sterling on Earth-Friendly Pervasive Computing [Last Updated On: November 8th, 2009] [Originally Added On: November 8th, 2009]
- First Step Toward Organ Regeneration in Humans [Last Updated On: November 8th, 2009] [Originally Added On: November 8th, 2009]
- IBM's "Five in Five" [Last Updated On: November 8th, 2009] [Originally Added On: November 8th, 2009]
- Outsourced Journalism [Last Updated On: November 8th, 2009] [Originally Added On: November 8th, 2009]
- Is True Global Democracy the Next Great Political Movement? [Last Updated On: November 8th, 2009] [Originally Added On: November 8th, 2009]
- The Risks of Autonomous Robots [Last Updated On: November 8th, 2009] [Originally Added On: November 8th, 2009]
- Microsoft Introduces "Tabletop" PC [Last Updated On: November 8th, 2009] [Originally Added On: November 8th, 2009]
- Britain Piloting First Biofueled Train [Last Updated On: November 8th, 2009] [Originally Added On: November 8th, 2009]
- Self-Healing Plastic [Last Updated On: November 8th, 2009] [Originally Added On: November 8th, 2009]
- Bird Population Falls Over Past 40 Years [Last Updated On: November 8th, 2009] [Originally Added On: November 8th, 2009]
- The iPhone Revolution? [Last Updated On: November 8th, 2009] [Originally Added On: November 8th, 2009]
- The End of "Cheap Food"? [Last Updated On: November 8th, 2009] [Originally Added On: November 8th, 2009]
- How to Stop -- Or Live With -- Global Warming [Last Updated On: November 8th, 2009] [Originally Added On: November 8th, 2009]
- MIT Demonstrates "Wireless Electricity" [Last Updated On: November 8th, 2009] [Originally Added On: November 8th, 2009]
- Unintended Consequences of Biofuels [Last Updated On: November 8th, 2009] [Originally Added On: November 8th, 2009]
- Time to Focus on the Big Picture in Copenhagen [Last Updated On: December 12th, 2009] [Originally Added On: December 12th, 2009]
- Protests in Copenhagen [Last Updated On: December 12th, 2009] [Originally Added On: December 12th, 2009]
- Mario Guido Dal Monte exhibit [Last Updated On: December 13th, 2009] [Originally Added On: December 13th, 2009]
- Futurism News Bulletin, xvi [Last Updated On: December 13th, 2009] [Originally Added On: December 13th, 2009]
- Viva il Futurismo! (video trailer) [Last Updated On: December 13th, 2009] [Originally Added On: December 13th, 2009]
- 3 exhibits in Gorizia! [Last Updated On: December 13th, 2009] [Originally Added On: December 13th, 2009]
- Forthcoming: ‘Antidiets of the Avant-garde’ by Cecilia Novero [Last Updated On: December 13th, 2009] [Originally Added On: December 13th, 2009]
- Pubblicità e propaganda. Ceramica e grafica futuriste at the Wolfsoniana [Last Updated On: December 13th, 2009] [Originally Added On: December 13th, 2009]
- Balla’s home scheduled to open in 2010 [Last Updated On: December 13th, 2009] [Originally Added On: December 13th, 2009]
- Futurismo a Savona [Last Updated On: December 13th, 2009] [Originally Added On: December 13th, 2009]
- ‘Zang Sud Sud’, Cosenza [Last Updated On: December 13th, 2009] [Originally Added On: December 13th, 2009]
- Conference in Rome (Dec. 10) [Last Updated On: December 13th, 2009] [Originally Added On: December 13th, 2009]
- Climate Hackergate: A Well-Orchestrated Campaign of Harassment [Last Updated On: December 13th, 2009] [Originally Added On: December 13th, 2009]
- The Sad Story of Cap and Trade [Last Updated On: December 13th, 2009] [Originally Added On: December 13th, 2009]
- How to Waste Trillions on Capturing Carbon [Last Updated On: December 13th, 2009] [Originally Added On: December 13th, 2009]
- Smack the Email Hack Attack [Last Updated On: December 13th, 2009] [Originally Added On: December 13th, 2009]
- EPA About to Declare CO2 a Public Danger [Last Updated On: December 13th, 2009] [Originally Added On: December 13th, 2009]
- Copenhagen Summit Starts with Virtually There Media [Last Updated On: December 13th, 2009] [Originally Added On: December 13th, 2009]
- Climate Scientist Gets Blunt on Trading Scheme [Last Updated On: December 13th, 2009] [Originally Added On: December 13th, 2009]
- One Climate Change Editorial in 56 Newspapers, 45 Countries [Last Updated On: December 13th, 2009] [Originally Added On: December 13th, 2009]
- This Decade Will be Hottest Ever on Record [Last Updated On: December 13th, 2009] [Originally Added On: December 13th, 2009]
- Divide and Conquer [Last Updated On: December 13th, 2009] [Originally Added On: December 13th, 2009]
- Leave the Coal in the Hole! [Last Updated On: December 13th, 2009] [Originally Added On: December 13th, 2009]
- COP15: Two Agreements Coming [Last Updated On: December 13th, 2009] [Originally Added On: December 13th, 2009]
- Climate and Copenhagen News December 10 [Last Updated On: December 13th, 2009] [Originally Added On: December 13th, 2009]
- Sea Level Already Rising on Atlantic Coast [Last Updated On: December 13th, 2009] [Originally Added On: December 13th, 2009]
- ‘Umbria Veloce’ in Perugia [Last Updated On: December 14th, 2009] [Originally Added On: December 14th, 2009]
- An Instable CO2-Filled Ocean [Last Updated On: December 14th, 2009] [Originally Added On: December 14th, 2009]
- ‘Futurismi a Ravenna’ opens Dec. 19 [Last Updated On: December 15th, 2009] [Originally Added On: December 15th, 2009]
- ‘Futurism and the Technological Imagination’ – 30% discount until Jan. 15 [Last Updated On: December 15th, 2009] [Originally Added On: December 15th, 2009]
- Protecting Our Lungs at Copenhagen [Last Updated On: December 15th, 2009] [Originally Added On: December 15th, 2009]