BACC "Thumper" Solid Fuel Booster
The RT-B20 Solid Fuel Booster (also known as an SRB) is a rocket engine used to provide thrust to a rocket.
Usage
RT-B20's are one-shot rocket boosters often used to help get the massive bulk of a large multi-stage rocket off the ground. They burn at a constant thrust until they run out of fuel and then cease to work. It is usually a good idea to jettison spent fuel boosters as they are quite heavy even when empty. Solid boosters have a better thrust-to-weight ratio than a Liquid Fuel rocket and tank, but lack a controllable throttle or the ability to extend the duration of the burn and are not as efficient or powerful.
The boosters can be mounted with the TT-38K Radial Decouplers, but cannot be stacked like their Liquid Fuel counterparts. It should be noted that more boosters doesn't reduce the need for Liquid Fuel, as one must also take into account thrust to weight ratios.
RT-B20 Solid Fuel Boosters are prone to overheating, especially when large numbers are clustered together. The main ways to overcome this are by using custom staging to stagger the firing, and attaching additional parts that are not SRBs (typically struts and/or winglets) to act as heat sinks.
As of 0.16, the RT-B20 has a lower Isp (2000 m/s) than any other solid or liquid fuel rocket, or even the stock RCS. Despite this limitation, the thrust and mass ratio are good enough that it is a popular choice on first stages.
Description
| “ | Filled with a new, even more volatile fuel, the RT-B20 burns for much longer than a booster of comparable size, but with half the thrust. An angled nozzle allows for greater stability when mounted on the sides of things, but it's your own fault if you put it underneath something. — Jebediah Kerman's Junkyard and Spaceship Parts Co. |
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Changes
- Initial Release
