Countdown to the U.S. moon landing, the rocket was struck by lightning even, lightning flashes, why the rocket is not afraid of lightning?
Countdown to U.S. Moon Landing, Fire
The Artemis-1 rocket, erected on Launch Pad 39B at Kennedy Space Center in Florida, USA, is about to lift off. The time is set for Aug. 29 at 8:33 p.m. EDT, which translates to Aug. 29 at 8:33 p.m. BST. The U.S. moon landing has entered the countdown and everyone is looking forward to it.
This is the United States after half a century again on the moon, success or failure in this case. Of course, Americans consider this launch very important. Since then, Americans have been gathering outside Launch Pad 39B at the Nidhi Space Center just to watch the spectacular launch of the giant American rocket.
At the time of the U.S. space shuttle launch, thousands of Americans gathered around the launch site, crowded everywhere, and vehicles could not pass. The owner simply stopped to watch with the space fans. The giant rocket ignited, the earth trembled, and the behemoth took off.
More than 20 hours before launch, on August 28, 2022, a thunderstorm hit Florida, USA, and the Artemis-1 rocket was struck by lightning. At first, the news reported that the Artemis-1 rocket was struck by lightning 3 times, later the news reported that the rocket was struck lightning 5 times.
Photos from the scene show lightning flashing at the launch site of Nidi Space Center 39B. Will this affect the rocket? Many people wondered if the rocket would be damaged by lightning, but NASA did not stop the launch of the Artemis-1 rocket, which means the rocket was not affected.
Why the rocket is not afraid of lightning? The body of the rocket is made of alloy, all metal materials, which are good conductors of electric current. In addition, the height of the Artemis-1 rocket assembly is nearly 99 meters, higher than the Statue of Liberty, which has been standing in New York for more than 120 years. It is a giant lightning-guided antenna.
Lightning is a violent discharge phenomenon in the Earth's atmosphere. When particles in cumulonimbus clouds interact with each other, such as through collision and friction, the cumulonimbus clouds become positively and negatively charged. The accumulation of charges to a certain extent becomes a "huge battery", forming a powerful electric field.
Lightning now occurs between clouds or between clouds and the ground. When the moist air is emptied by a strong electric field, the air becomes a pathway and a violent discharge occurs. With voltages of hundreds of millions of volts and currents of up to 300,000 amps, lightning is extremely destructive, especially to electronic equipment.
There is now a giant lightning-guided antenna on the ground (Artemis-1 rocket). On rainy days, naturally, the discharge is more frequent near Nidi Space Center 39B. The Artemis-1 rocket was struck by lightning five times in a row, but nothing happened. Why is the rocket not afraid of lightning strikes?
Rockets tend to attract lightning, which experts have long thought of. The rocket is designed to withstand lightning strikes, and on May 27, 2019, Russia's Soyuz 2.1b launch vehicle was struck by lightning during liftoff, but the rocket continued to lift off and put the satellite into its intended orbit unharmed.
The head of the Russian Rocket Launch Center said: "Weather is not an obstacle for Soyuz rockets. Our rockets can work all day long and lightning cannot damage the internal components of our rockets. I believe that both Chinese and American rockets are the same and should be highly resistant to lightning strikes.
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There is a second layer of protection for the rockets on the launch pad, which is to install multiple lightning towers around the launch pad that are higher than the rockets, directing lightning to the towers to prevent lightning from hitting the rockets. Don't say this method is very effective, lightning can no longer hit the rocket.
For example, China's Xichang space launch site around the rocket launch site built four steel-frame structures of the lightning tower, each lightning tower height reached 105 meters, even higher than the launch rocket, and the United States Kennedy Space Center launch site 39B also built three higher lightning tower, which is a perfect protective measure.
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NASA experts also said that three lightning towers 183 meters high were built around Launch Complex 39B at Kennedy Space Center to guide lightning. There was no damage to the rocket or the capsule inside the fairing, and ground equipment was not affected. The U.S. Artemis-1 rocket was able to launch normally.
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