➰ NASA’s Sound Suppression System

The giant white clouds billowing around this shuttle launch are not smoke, but water vapor, generated as the rocket exhaust boils away huge quantities of water. The process, which NASA calls its Sound Suppression System, dramatically reduces the destructive acoustic energy created by the firing rocket engines. The water is pumped into the mobile launch platform from an 88 meter tall water tower (shown in the foreground of the video), which empties its entire 1.1 million liter contents into the site in less than one minute!

Here’s an additional video showing a test of the Sound Suppression System without the rocket launch, so you can see much more clearly the phenomenal quantity of water drowning the launch pad…

How to Get More Physics Footnotes Like This in Your Life...

If you’re happy to have random footnotes turn up in your feed from time to time, then subscribing by email (below) and following Physics Footnotes on Facebook and Twitter might well be enough for you. But if you’d like a more convenient way to access all of my content (especially if you’re a STEM teacher, for example), I have created a resource that might interest you…

The Members Portal: Membership gives you full access to my entire repository of footnotes, as well as a searchable multimedia gallery containing hundreds of excellent GIFs and videos covering most physics topics. You also get a complimentary copy of any new volumes I add to my eBook series whilst you are a member. Right now volume 2 is waiting for you inside! Click here for more.

Want to see physics footnotes like this pop up in your inbox from time to time? Here's how to let me know, and get a free copy of the first volume of my new series of eBooks in your first email...

Reader Interactions