Corrected entry: When Polly Perkins pulls the lever and all the animals fall into the sea, a considerable proportion of the rocket's mass is lost. From Newton's Laws, assuming a constant force from the engines, the loss of mass means that the acceleration should increase. There's no sign of this.
tw_stuart
28th Nov 2004
Correction: After the animals are jettisoned The rocket starts to disintegrate, presumably because the acceleration is too high for it to withstand.
tw_stuart