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Old 2nd April 2026 | 09:41
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B Fraser
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From: Biffins Bridge
There's a bit of duplication here with the SLS thread. Perhaps a mod will do a merge.

What puzzles me is why the liquid stage is insulated. The Shuttle Orbiter was extremely vulnerable to ice shedding and flight 27 was almost lost due to a SRB nose cone shredding and ripping tiles off the Orbiter underside. The weight of the foam requires 9 times the mass of the propellant to get it up to the point at which the tank is discarded. The tank is unpainted in order to save weight, some 450kg being save on the Shuttle flights 3 and onwards. Given that the foam caused no end of issues and the vibration of launch is enough to shake the ice free in a few seconds, why is there a need for insulation ? Space X seem to do OK with their rockets.
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