How did the quarter get on the ship
In the new TV Series First about the first manned mission to Mars, the first rocket crashes because of an errant quarter.
How does the Quarter get left on the (Gantry? Rocket?)? I thought it was a mystery but a friend said the quarter was a ritual thing but somebody forgot to pick it up and take it off the Gantry.
Best Answer
This is explained in Episode 2 when there is an investigation...
It's a tradition for the Providence crew to bring a quarter into the White Room as a good luck ritual.
The quarter was given to a technician before they entered the capsule. We believe he must have dropped it on to the transom, or it fell out of his pocket.
The quarter was then lodged onto a a spring loaded dust cover of one of the forward booster separation motors on the starboard SRB right here. When the BSMs ignite, these dust covers, they fling open due to the 20,000 pounds of thrust generated by the BSM.
When this happened, the quarter was flung with enough velocity to puncture the LOX tank of the first stage.
The impact provided an ignition source, enabling the aluminum skin of the LOX tank to be rapidly consumed by fire, exacerbated by the presence of pure oxygen
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What is the quarter on a ship?
Quarter-deck: The part of the upper deck of a ship abaft the mainmast, also often included a poop deck. The quarter-deck was that part of the ship from which command was executed and thus it was often reserved for officers in naval vessels. Cannon were often also stationed on this deck.Why is it called a poop deck?
We quote verbatim: \u201cThe name originates from the French word for stern, la poupe, from Latin puppis. Thus the poop deck is technically a stern deck, which in sailing ships was usually elevated as the roof of the stern or \u201cafter\u201d cabin, also known as the \u201cpoop cabin\u201d.Why do Sailors salute the quarterdeck?
Others hold that the custom comes from the early days of the British Navy when all officers who were present on the quarterdeck returned the salute of an individual by removing the their headdress. Today the salute is seen as respecting the authority of the ship and the colours that are flown on the quarterdeck.The Physics of Sailing | KQED QUEST
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