posted 04-25-2018 10:19 AM
Has anyone seen any data regarding the expected G-forces that future astronaut crews will experience on launch and re-entry aboard Dragon 2, Starliner and Orion? If I recall correctly, Mercury and Gemini astronauts experienced upwards of 8G or so while Apollo crews maxed out at about 4.5G on the first stage of the Saturn V. The shuttle crews experienced a relatively mild 3G, as the SSMEs were throttled back to limit the acceleration forces during the final minute or so of powered flight.
Deceleration forces on re-entry were somewhat higher on Apollo flights, especially the lunar missions, and significantly lower on the shuttle, since it was a winged vehicle.
While watching recent unmanned launches of the Falcon 9 and the Atlas V rockets, the on-screen data showing velocity and altitude seem to indicate maximum acceleration rates of about 5G or so. Will future manned launches atop these vehicles generate the same G-forces or will their ascent profiles be modified to limit the G-forces, as was done with the shuttle?
posted 04-25-2018 10:19 AM
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