…when you need a damper arm between the pad and the launch vehicle.
It reminds me of the walkers that older folks sometimes have to use. For the same reason. This is almost getting to be a bad (and very expensive) joke.
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Given that Apollo seems to have used them as well, I don’t think the idea justifies snarkiness
Been listening to old Jimmy Buffett music?
From the song “Migrations”;
‘Most of the people who retire in Florida
Are wrinkled and they lean on a crutch’!
May you live so long!
Assuming the article has its information right (I typically don’t), the Apollo versions used the dampers for rolling the vehicle to the pad. This one is required for launch.
I suppose the next logical step is to launch the bloody thing off a rail like an Estes rocket.
Does this damper arm help any with the wind problem? Namely, that the Ares I couldn’t launch without hitting the tower, if the wind coming from a certain direction was over a certainly relatively low speed?
I wonder if a shorter/fatter rocket wouldn’t be lighter and stronger with the same fuel capacity. Considering air flow perhaps even a slightly conical rather than cylinder shape. I know it sounds funny, but have any studies been done?