Where do expendable launch vehicles parts go when they separate?
Good question, Brittany. The expendable launch vehicles are designed so that we have different stages on the vehicle. This is an Atlas vehicle that I’ll be showing you. When the vehicle first takes off, the first parts we lose are the solid rocket motors. These are the white motors on the side. As the vehicle follows this trajectory, the white solid rocket motors would fall in the ocean. The stage continues firing with the main first stage, and that stage continues its trajectory. This second stage does stay in orbit. Right before you use up most of the fuel on the second stage, the spacecraft separates. Then this second stage will then make a maneuver, get away from the spacecraft so it’s in a safe position, and it would stay in orbit. Second stages usually last anywhere from about a year to 25 years in orbit, then it eventually would come back down to Earth and land in the ocean.
