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The Flame Deflector System protects the vehicle and
pad structures from the intense heat of launch. It is located in the ground
level flame trench that bisects the hardstand. A flame deflector presents an
inverted V-shape to the flames pouring into the trench through the openings in
the Mobile Launcher Platform. Both sides of the upside-down V curve out near the
bottom until they are almost horizontal. Flames follow these curves and deflect
horizontally down the flame trench, rather than bouncing back to envelop the
vehicle. The flame trench divides the hardstand lengthwise from ground level to
the pad surface. It is 490 feet (149 meters) long, 58 feet (18 meters) wide, and
40 feet (12 meters) high. At launch, flames shoot out both ends of the trench
into the air. The deflector for the Space Shuttle is actually a two-in-one
device, where one side of the inverted V receives the flames from the orbiter's
main engines, and the opposite side gets the flames from the two solid rocker
boosters. It is fixed near the center of the trench and extends completely
across it.
The orbiter and booster deflectors are built of
steel and covered with an ablative material about 5 inches (12.7 centimeters)
thick that flakes off to shed heat. These deflectors weigh over 1 million pounds
(453,600 kilograms) each.
In addition to the fixed deflectors, there are
two movable ones located at the top of the trench for additional protection from
the solid rocket booster flames.
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