What is this sound coming from the Space Shuttle?

I don't put too much stock into this guys other vids. Go to 6:10 of the video and he has a valid point. Is the noise coming from the shuttle jet engines that are not supposed to be there? Is this to be believed that this is another jet in the area? I have zero experience with jets, the only thing I have is seeing them on TV, or in the air. Can anyone explain please?

they have jet chase planes that took photographs and video of the landing, that's what you hear.....if you go to the dozens of other wider angle shots of the shuttle landing, it shows them.

a reply to: seasonal

OK. This is an easy one. Ignoring the guy's other crazy talk, it is very understandable that he would mistake the sounds coming from the orbiter as jet noise. We know that the space shuttle orbiter glides to an unpowered touchdown, so we expect it to be silent. This, however, is not the case for a variety of reasons.

I have witnessed more than 20 space shuttle landings, often from within a mere 1,400 feet of the runway. The vehicle always sounds like an arriving jet plane. Why is this? First of all, there are auxiliary power units (APUs) operating to provide power for onboard systems, and these are fairly loud by themselves. But, a surprising amount of the sound were are hearing from the orbiter comes from aerodynamic noise. This is produced by steady-state surface pressures on the wing and flaps, as well as unsteady pressures on the flap edges, nose gear, and main landing gear. The interaction between the airflow over the surface of the vehicle and around the various components that protrude into the airstream results in noise.

I have also watched two, much smaller vehicles - the X-40 and X-37A - make unpowered glide landings. Both of these craft also sounded like jet planes for the same reasons listed above. It's no mystery. It's science.

a reply to: jimmyx

At 8:16 is a shot of the shuttle going over the cam, and it sounds to me like it is powered.

a reply to: Shadowhawk

I could see the wind noise, it can be considerable even on trucks and cars.

a reply to: seasonal

Well that's 9 minutes of my life I'll never get back.

YouTuber is an idiot.

No wonder he disables comments on the video. The guy is an idiot!

a reply to: seasonal

the suttle does not have jet engines - so he is already on a losing streak

Exposed




red flag for stupidy.

originally posted by: seasonal
a reply to: jimmyx

At 8:16 is a shot of the shuttle going over the cam, and it sounds to me like it is powered.

Here's a shot of the orbiter Atlantis I took as it was landing, passing in front of the roof of the Vehicle Assembly Building:
c1.staticflickr.com...
If the orbiter were powered by jet engines we should see severe distortions of the masts on the roof of the VAB due to the hot exhaust from any jet engines. Yes, there are some heat waves affecting everything in the image equally, due to the fact that I was shooting the orbiter low on the horizon from about 12 miles away on public land. Nevertheless, distortions from jet engines would be orders of magnitude more severe, to the point that the entire roof of the VAB behind the orbit should have been blurred in a manner similar to what you see in shots of the moon with jets passing in front:
www.skynews.ca...
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Notice particularly in the second example, which is during the day like the shuttle landing, that only the exhaust from the starboard engine is readily noticeable due to the presence of the moon behind it, but it is quite noticeable.

It's the sound of air flowing around or being pushed by the Shuttle. In fact, that's the kind of sound you hear from an airplane flying high above - it's not the sound of jet engines but the sound of air.

A similar kind of sound can be heard when a wingsuit flier zooms past you: www.youtube.com...

This youtuber is another dent in the gene pool.

a reply to: Shadowhawk

You know you hear and see some crazy things on here. It's kind of like the old National Enquirer sometimes. There are people who are just plain ignorant and some that think they saw or heard something because they don't have all the facts and try to convince you of something outrageous happening. As you wade through the BS, sometimes you want to send a message and explain why something is the way it is and sometimes you just don't have the energy.

Thank God there are some people like you with the patience to teach the rest of us why we hear or see something unusual and those that always immediately suspect the worst, or a Government lie ect. I am usually too tired to try and offer a rational explanation and just move on. I'm so glad that people like you with some knowledge and experience do this and offer a reason for what somebody saw or heard. That is one of the best things about this site. You do it as to not offend the person posting the story, but only as an helpful advisor offering some sense to a situation and I thank you for that and the kindness you show by not just coming out and saying "WTF are you crazy"! like I have wanted to so many times. Thanks again buddy.
RJ Bagbbins..

a reply to: seasonal

The APUs can be loud and function similar to a Jet Engine:

Auxiliary Power Units

The auxiliary power unit is a hydrazine-fueled, turbine-driven power unit that generates mechanical shaft power to drive a hydraulic pump that produces pressure for the orbiter's hydraulic system. There are three separate APUs, three hydraulic pumps and three hydraulic systems.

Each auxiliary power unit and its fuel system are located in the aft fuselage of the orbiter. They are identical but independent systems that are not interconnected. Each APU fuel system supplies storable liquid hydrazine fuel to its respective fuel pump, gas generator valve module and gas generator, which decomposes the fuel through catalytic action. The resultant hot gas drives a two-stage turbine. The turbine exhaust flow returns over the exterior of the gas generator, cooling it, and is then directed overboard through an exhaust duct at the upper portion of the aft fuselage near the vertical stabilizer. The turbine assembly provides mechanical power through a shaft to drive reduction gears in the gearbox. The gearbox drives a fuel pump, a hydraulic pump and a lube oil pump. The hydraulic pump supplies pressure to the hydraulic system. The fuel pump increases the fuel pressure at its outlet to sustain pressurized fuel to the gas generator valve module and gas generator. The lube oil system supplies lubricant to the gearbox reduction gears and uses the reduction gears as scavenge pumps to supply lube oil to the inlet of the lube oil pump to increase the pressure of the lube oil system.

NASA - APU

To quote another member: The man with the video is an idiot.

I'm amazed how the creator of this video is unfamiliar with the concept of wind noise. If anyone is curious, next time you're out driving on the highway, turn off your radio and HVAC and have a listen, chances are you'll barely be able to hear your engine over the sound of the air going around your vehicle, now imagine what that would sound like scaled up to something the size of the space shuttle. Also, to add, the majority of the noise made by a jet engine is the sound of the air being forced through the engine, it's hard to describe in text but the whine is the engine, the woosh is the air.