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Author
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Topic: Spent rocket booster on St. Lucian beach
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Blaberus
Member Posts: 18
From: England
Registered: Nov 2006
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posted 03-30-2010 03:39 PM
  
I was intrigued to discover that there is (or was until recently) part of what looks like a spent rocket booster on St. Lucian beach (Cas En Bas beach) on the Caribbean island of St Lucia. It is a minor tourist attraction and was apparently washed up a number of years ago. For images of it see this page on Flickr or view the slide show embedded below.
Does anyone know exactly what it is? |
atlas5guy
Member Posts: 38
From:
Registered: Jun 2007
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posted 05-05-2010 12:45 AM
That looks like the front end of either a Titan IV or Ariane V solid rocket motor. Both boosters are nearly identical in diameter (Titan IV, 10.5 ft, Ariane V 3 m/ 9.8 ft). Was there any markings inside the casing that could help identify the origin of the rocket? Given the location of St. Lucia compared to the French Guiana launch site, I would hazard a guess that this is from an Ariane booster. |
atlas5guy
Member Posts: 38
From:
Registered: Jun 2007
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posted 05-05-2010 01:01 AM
On further reflection, the booster section does not appear to be big enough to be a 9.8 ft Ariane V booster motor, but it does more closely match the 3.51 ft diameter of an Ariane IV solid rocket motor (steel case, which the artifact appears to be). Delta solid motor cases are graphite epoxy composite construction. |
Jim Behling
Member Posts: 1841
From: Cape Canaveral, FL
Registered: Mar 2010
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posted 05-05-2010 01:21 PM
quote:
Originally posted by atlas5guy:
...but it does more closely match the 3.51 ft diameter of an Ariane IV solid rocket motor (steel case, which the artifact appears to be).
Huh? It is plainly a filament wound tank and not a booster casing. |
Blaberus
Member Posts: 18
From: England
Registered: Nov 2006
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posted 05-31-2010 03:39 PM
The case is actually a carbon fiber composite - not metal (I have a piece of it). Since Ariane rockets use this material and the object was found in the Caribbean is it not likely that it is from one of these rockets? A close-up of some of the rivets shows numbers on their heads "HL12V6 VS" and "LCP9VB." |
GACspaceguy
Member Posts: 2986
From: Guyton, GA
Registered: Jan 2006
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posted 06-01-2010 11:10 AM
"HL12V6 VS" is not a rivet. It is what is called a hi-lok fastener. This is a protruding tension head titanium hi-lok. The V indicates cetyl alcohol lubricated finish, the 6 indicates that the diameter is nominally 3/16 inches. Finally the VS indicates that it was manufactured by Voi-Shan. I am still working on the "LCP9VB." |
GACspaceguy
Member Posts: 2986
From: Guyton, GA
Registered: Jan 2006
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posted 06-01-2010 12:44 PM
It looks like the "LCP9VB" is actually a "LGP9VB - Pin, Composite Application, Lightweight Huckcomp LGP, Shear type, Protruding Head, Swage Locking, 6AL-4 Titanium (95 KSI shear)." From the home page for the supplier Alcoa Fastening Systems, the name is a "Huckcomp LGP pull-type titanium lockbolt." |
Rocket Chris
Member Posts: 432
From: Guttentag
Registered: Nov 2009
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posted 06-02-2010 02:13 AM
It's definitely a bulk head from an Ariane 5 fairing stage, manufactured by MT Aerospace. I can identify this because I joined the manufacturing of the GAM GAT high pressure vessels made for the boosters and the Vulcain engine. I also know MT Aerospace settled in Augsburg, Germany.The bulk head is made of aluminum, surrounded with carbon reinforced fibre plastic, also manufactured by MT. For sure it is not a booster segment. The diameter is too small for it (must be something about 10 ft.). The pressure vessel GAM GAT has a smaller diameter. I have flown GAM GAT rings, from that point. I would rather say that this thing is a faring stage... |
moorouge
Member Posts: 2486
From: U.K.
Registered: Jul 2009
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posted 06-02-2010 01:02 PM
See my post of 25th November 2009 in this section of cS. These are from the rocket found on the beach in St. Lucia. |
Blaberus
Member Posts: 18
From: England
Registered: Nov 2006
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posted 06-02-2010 03:44 PM
Many thanks to all the knowledgeable people who replied to my queries - very interesting! |
markottosmith
New Member Posts: 1
From:
Registered: Dec 2014
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posted 12-12-2014 07:55 AM
I photographed this on the beach in early 2000 while out horse riding, I always thought it was an Ariane rocket due to relative proximity to French Guyana. |
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