How Is Acceleration Calculated in a Space Shuttle Launch?

[confusedmia]

Homework Statement

[Here's the exact question!] A space shuttle is fully fueled and stand on a launching pad. At launch there are 5 separate engines pushing the shuttle skyward, 3 main engines of 1.7MN thrust each, plus 2 booster rockets each producing 23MN of thrust. Max thrust T is achieved after 0.5sec. Calculate the acceleration of the shuttle 0.5sec after ignition, taking the mass of the shuttle to be 2.0^10(to the power of)6 kg at this instance.

Relevant Equations

Fnet=ma, w=mg

Sorry there, relatively new to this topic. Anyways, from my understanding of the formula, the force is equal to mass times acceleration. So, is it safe to assume that the total force is simply all the forces from the engines added up? (1.7MN^3+23MN^2), while the mass is (2.0^106 kg)^ 9.8m/s^2?
Therefore, the Acceleration would be the force divided by the mass?

 

[PeroK]

Probably all they mean is that the rockets take 0.5s to get up to maximum thrust.

 

[jbriggs444]

Anyways, from my understanding of the formula, the force is equal to mass times acceleration.

Yes.

So, is it safe to assume that the total force is simply all the forces from the engines added up? (1.7MN^3+23MN^2)

Yes, force is additive. If you have multiple forces, the effect of them all put together is the [vector] sum of the individual forces. F=ma is often written as $\Sigma F=ma$ to reflect this.

However, there is a force that you have not accounted for.

while the mass is (2.0^106 kg)^ 9.8m/s^2?

The kilogram is already a unit of mass.

Therefore, the Acceleration would be the force divided by the mass?

Yes

Note that one would normally write two million as 2.0E+6, as 2.0x10⁶, 2.0x10^6 or even $2.0\times 10^6$

 

[Right Triangle]

Problem Statement: [Here's the exact question!] A space shuttle is fully fueled and stand on a launching pad. At launch there are 5 separate engines pushing the shuttle skyward, 3 main engines of 1.7MN thrust each, plus 2 booster rockets each producing 23MN of thrust. Max thrust T is achieved after 0.5sec. Calculate the acceleration of the shuttle 0.5sec after ignition, taking the mass of the shuttle to be 2.0^10(to the power of)6 kg at this instance.
Relevant Equations: Fnet=ma, w=mg

Sorry there, relatively new to this topic. Anyways, from my understanding of the formula, the force is equal to mass times acceleration. So, is it safe to assume that the total force is simply all the forces from the engines added up? (1.7MN^3+23MN^2), while the mass is (2.0^106 kg)^ 9.8m/s^2?
Therefore, the Acceleration would be the force divided by the mass?

Physicists at the time defined Newton as a unit based on Newton's second law, which defined the force required to accelerate a kilogram of material at one meter per second as 1N