Falcon 9 Rocket Explodes on Launch Test (1 Viewer)

Well, yeah. That's where Kennedy Space Center is located.


I throw in all kinds of comic references and you come and spoil it with " Duh!".

:rant:

The tidbit that will flame the "theories" is the payload.
I am sure to get plenty of reading material in the next few days, while I wear mah hat, in the basement, drinking Mountain Dew, with a bag of Cheetos clutched firmly in my grasp.
 
It happens. Rocketry isn't completely safe at any level. There are incredible temperature extremes from Liquid oxygen to the intense heat of the burn. There are also massive pressure waves in the propellant and fuel lines, along with the exhaust pressure. It's a testament to the design crews and builders that explosions don't happen more often.


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Routine test fire for a launch that went up in smoke.

SpaceX explosion occurred during rocket-engine test; EOC: No threat to public

While not exactly a "yuge" deal I can certainly say that in the next few weeks there will be plenty of "theories" regarding this event.
I am getting a new tinfoil hat for this one!


Obligatory - It's Florida

Edit: Updated title to give a bit more info.


I don't get your conspiracy angle. SpaceX has had successful operations in the past.

If you were arguing some kind of anti-Israel effort (sabotage) as the culprit I could perhaps understand, as the mission was to launch a communications satellite for Israel.

But what am I missing?
 
Terrible accident. I sure hope no one was around. I had heard (have yet to read it) that they think it was during fueling.
 
Amos 6, the private satellite the rocket was due to carry into Earth's orbit Saturday, was slated to provide communication services including home internet for Africa, the Middle East, and Europe for a partnership between Facebook (FB, Tech30) and French satellite firm Eutelsat Communications. The satellite was owned by Israeli company Spacecom, which contracted with SpaceX to carry it into orbit. Facebook has not responded to requests for comment.

SpaceX: Explosio at Cape Canaveral launch pad - Sep. 1, 2016
 
While rockets are getting safer, there is no way in hell I would let one send my butt into low orbit.
 
I don't get your conspiracy angle. SpaceX has had successful operations in the past.

If you were arguing some kind of anti-Israel effort (sabotage) as the culprit I could perhaps understand, as the mission was to launch a communications satellite for Israel.

But what am I missing?


You got rockets.

You have FB.

You have Israel.

A little Africa.

Add in two scoops of Florida.
 
While rockets are getting safer, there is no way in hell I would let one send my butt into low orbit.

There's a reason Lockheed Martin, Boeing, etc typically did this stuff under massive government oversight and scrutiny from NASA. The quality system is amazing. Far more strict than what the FAA requires for Jet Air flight (the FAA is pretty strict too).

I applaud the efforts of SpaceX to try to make space flight cheaper, but that will come with the potential for accidents. That's great for a random supply run, satellites, where you can deal with a loss of cargo, but manned flights? Can you deal with an explosion a year?
 
I don't get your conspiracy angle. SpaceX has had successful operations in the past.

If you were arguing some kind of anti-Israel effort (sabotage) as the culprit I could perhaps understand, as the mission was to launch a communications satellite for Israel.

But what am I missing?

I have no theories. I see it as an accident. I am referencing the wild theories that will follow. I will pop a link to a really good theory if I see one, proving that ANY story is illuminati's fault or aliens, or Bilderberg, or Khazain (sp) Mafia, or Obama's......
 
There's a reason Lockheed Martin, Boeing, etc typically did this stuff under massive government oversight and scrutiny from NASA. The quality system is amazing. Far more strict than what the FAA requires for Jet Air flight (the FAA is pretty strict too).



I applaud the efforts of SpaceX to try to make space flight cheaper, but that will come with the potential for accidents. That's great for a random supply run, satellites, where you can deal with a loss of cargo, but manned flights? Can you deal with an explosion a year?



First one was a design flaw. It was a strut that wasn't strong enough allowing the helium tank inside to break loose, which in turn caused a massive oxygen flood and explosion. That has since been fixed. Up to this point it's the only real failure of the SpaceX program. This one's cause will be figured out and fixed also.

As far as manned flights, that's why this design has been being perfected unmanned. NASA in the beginning had issues also, but because of the money involved it was able to test things on the ground much more and have more extensive testing procedures that would bankrupt any private company. So, SpaceX is doing the unmanned cargo missions working out the flaws this way, in real time. When all is done I'd trust SpaceX as much as I'd trust any thing that involved a few thousand tons of kerosene and liquid oxygen. Which personally isn't much


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I have no theories. I see it as an accident. I am referencing the wild theories that will follow. I will pop a link to a really good theory if I see one, proving that ANY story is illuminati's fault or aliens, or Bilderberg, or Khazain (sp) Mafia, or Obama's......

Uh, okay.
 
First one was a design flaw. It was a strut that wasn't strong enough allowing the helium tank inside to break loose, which in turn caused a massive oxygen flood and explosion. That has since been fixed. Up to this point it's the only real failure of the SpaceX program. This one's cause will be figured out and fixed also.

As far as manned flights, that's why this design has been being perfected unmanned. NASA in the beginning had issues also, but because of the money involved it was able to test things on the ground much more and have more extensive testing procedures that would bankrupt any private company. So, SpaceX is doing the unmanned cargo missions working out the flaws this way, in real time. When all is done I'd trust SpaceX as much as I'd trust any thing that involved a few thousand tons of kerosene and liquid oxygen. Which personally isn't much


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I was under the impression that the struts just weren't built properly to meet their certification load. That's a quality escape by the supplier. And if SpaceX was a stringent as LMT, they'd have tested one strut to verify the materials were good, and the processing was good vs just accepting on cert.

I couldn't find anything saying the struts were re-designed. There was speculation they could be re-designed or use a different supplier to mitigate the issue, but the exact cause was never stated. Best I ran across was something about "grain structure", which we'd normally call Microstructure. Perhaps it was faulty heat treatment, or the part has a weld and they didn't do a post weld heat treatment. If that's the case, a simple hardness test on the component would have caught it.
 

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