[askvictor]

Not convinced about this argument; wouldn't the forces during the slow-down burn be applied much the same as the from the feet?

[ars]

Actually no - the forces travel inside the "tank" of the rocket, and push against the top of it.

The force doesn't push against the nozzle of the engine.

[krisoft]

> The force doesn't push against the nozzle of the engine.

I’m not sure what you are saying here. The force pushes against the nozzle, (and of course the walls of the combustion chamber.) That is the purpose of the rocket engine, to push the rocket forward. They are not just there to provide mood-lights.

[ars]

I said "nozzle", as in the side walls of the engine.

The force doesn't transfer via those walls, rather it goes through the full tank of the rocket and pushes against the top.

[krisoft]

> I said "nozzle", as in the side walls of the engine.

Ok? I seem to have said the same.

> The force doesn't transfer via those walls

Where do you think the force starts on a rocket? What pushes the rocket forward?

[slow_typist]

Same pressure in the tank as in the nozzle? That doesn’t sound right. It would burst.

[ben_w]

Same force, not same pressure. The nozzles are relatively small.

I wouldn't want to try to intuit what the force distribution would be and how much is carried through each component of the structure, though — that's what simulations are for.

[HPsquared]

The chopsticks on the tower can absorb a lot of the impact, I'd guess.