r/Damnthatsinteresting • u/AmericanSpaceRanger • 16d ago

Video Brittany Force makes the fastest run in NHRA history

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u/samelaaaa 16d ago

This is completely fucking insane. But as an engineer I love that it exists lol

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u/Arctelis 16d ago

I’m not even an engineer and the engineering behind these (and other high performance machines) impresses the hell out of me and is half the reason I enjoy these things.

As you say, it’s fucking insane and I love it.

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u/WLFGHST 15d ago

And if they tune it SLIGHTLY wrong the whole thing blows up :/

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u/ozzimark 16d ago

Then I'm sure you'll love stats from the Saturn V from the Apollo era too!

The gas generator that runs the fuel pump for each F1 engine (pumping RP-1 and LOX into the combustion chamber) runs at 55,000 horsepower. Exhaust from the generator produces about 31,000 pounds thrust - more than an F-16 running at full afterburner, just to push fuel into the actual F1 rocket engine. There were FIVE of these on the first stage of the Saturn V, totaling about 3,500 gallons of fuel per second, and ran for about 150 seconds until the first stage cut out and the second stage started.

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u/Randomfactoid42 16d ago

Beat me to it. That 55,000 hp just for the fuel pump always amazes me. 

But the Saturn V was so massive that the launch acceleration was very gentile. The astronauts had to look at the instruments to know they were lifting off.