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SpaceX Starship rocket explodes minutes after launch from Texas

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Re: SpaceX Starship rocket explodes minutes after launch from Texas

#631

Post by s1artibartfast »

pnpnp wrote: post #554
marktangotango wrote: post #431

Earlier quoted context omitted.

In fact it was a really amazing "engine out" test. The thing appeared to been shedding engines all the way to RUD. I imagine these engines were all early generation, might as well fly them, units. It's easy to imagine a calculus of "we're pretty sure X% of engines will fail, but we only need Y% for this flight, go ahead and fly them". But yeah, Musk once said there's a gigawatt of power going through these Raptor eng…

It’s also possible the engines were damaged by flying debris off the pad.

Possible, but I don't think that's the full explanation. When the booster did a static test at half throttle, not all of the engines were able to light as well. SpaceX clearly chose to go ahead with a launch without waiting for a booster test with 100% ignition

Re: SpaceX Starship rocket explodes minutes after launch from Texas

#632

Post by javajosh »

xwdv wrote: post #518
supportlocal4h wrote: post #501

Somewhere there is a team that is over the top happy about an incredibly successful explosion. Their job was to make sure that if flight path deviated beyond some threshhold that the whole vehicle would be blown into tiny parts that would become ballistically safe. They were on the edge of their seats on how well that would work. They saw the lift off team celebrate their success. They saw the booster team fist pumpi…

One demolition team member had commented that his butt was clenched the whole time and when he finally saw the rocket explode it was like a euphoric release.

I have to say, "rocket demolition guy" has got to be one of the coolest job titles in the world.

Re: SpaceX Starship rocket explodes minutes after launch from Texas

#633

Post by marssaxman »

mindcrime wrote: post #592
p1mrx wrote: post #541

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It's been launched beyond the environment. Nothing's out there.

You mean it's been launched from one environment into another environment?

probably a reference to this classic comedy sketch:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3m5qxZm_JqM

Re: SpaceX Starship rocket explodes minutes after launch from Texas

#634

Post by politician »

version_five wrote: post #315
bumby wrote: post #264

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> "Fail fast" applies to more than just software. Yes, but let's not take the analogy too far. For people who work in safety-critical design (including software), it takes a different mindset than what is often prevalent in silicon valley. When the stakes are high, you don't really want to "move fast and break things". You can actually see this in SpaceX. In development when stakes are relatively low (e.g., no payloa…

I agree with everything in your comment. One thing I've wondered about re space exploration though is how we reconcile what I think is pretty much universal acknowledgement that we have to do everything possible to avoid loss of life with the inherent danger of space travel, and the "drag" that a zero-tolerance safety focus can have on culture. Put another way, what would global exploration have looked like if sailor…

My expectation is that as soon as someone gets something going beyond Earth orbit and beyond the need to obtain launch licenses from the FAA, the zero-tolerance safety culture will be reduced. The Martians will build nuclear power plants.

Re: SpaceX Starship rocket explodes minutes after launch from Texas

#636

Post by rhcom2 »

callumprentice wrote: post #602

Anyone know how the controlled demolition works? I imagine something more sophisticated than a "radio controlled bomb" but maybe KISS.

I was curious too. I found:

- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Space_Shuttle_Solid_Rocket_Boo...

- https://space.stackexchange.com/questions/5775/how-are-self-...

tldr: shape charges for solid boosters, dumping fuel for liquid

Re: SpaceX Starship rocket explodes minutes after launch from Texas

#637

Post by angelbar »

soperj wrote: post #493
908B64B197 wrote: post #474

Earlier quoted context omitted.

To me it's an incredible achievement. Raptor engine development started in 2012. Starship's development started around the same time. They now achieved max Q and got flight data all the way to booster separation. On real, flight ready hardware. By an all-American team started right here in California using private funding from an already profitable all-American privately developed launch platform (the Falcon 9). This…

> This is in contrast to the SLS and it's predecessor the Constellation program (the SLS really being an evolution of the Ares I and V) that started in 2005 and, so far yielded a single successful test flight You forgot to include that this was also by an "all-American team".

there wasn't another choice...

Re: SpaceX Starship rocket explodes minutes after launch from Texas

#638

Post by bryanlarsen »

vannevar wrote: post #575
samwillis wrote: post #483

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Exactly, the two untested things were stage zero (all the new ground infrastructure) and stage one (booster). I think it's clear one of their biggest lessons is that the construction of the launch mount is wrong, and it REALY needs a flame diverter. Take a look at this photo: https://mobile.twitter.com/LabPadre/status/16490627841670307... That massive hole in the ground should not have happed, and I suspect that was…

>That massive hole in the ground should not have happed, and I suspect that was not an expected possibility. Interestingly, this post predicting exactly this kind of damage was flagged on HN just days ago: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=35590279 I think it's unlikely that SpaceX wasn't aware of the damage that would be caused. They have a pretty good engineering team, and that aspect didn't involve an anomaly,…

It was expected. They have moved deluge equipment from Canaveral and have partially installed it, which they wouldn't have done if it wasn't expected to be needed.

Re: SpaceX Starship rocket explodes minutes after launch from Texas

#639

Post by ASalazarMX »

almost_usual wrote: post #598
vannevar wrote: post #575

Earlier quoted context omitted.

>That massive hole in the ground should not have happed, and I suspect that was not an expected possibility. Interestingly, this post predicting exactly this kind of damage was flagged on HN just days ago: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=35590279 I think it's unlikely that SpaceX wasn't aware of the damage that would be caused. They have a pretty good engineering team, and that aspect didn't involve an anomaly,…

I still don’t understand why that post was flagged so quickly.

> SpaceX's Texas Rocket Is Going to Cause a Lot More Damage Than Anyone Thinks

It might be the over-the-top title didn't do it any favors. It's in a gray zone between truth and click bait.

Re: SpaceX Starship rocket explodes minutes after launch from Texas

#640

Post by hackernewds »

supportlocal4h wrote: post #501

Somewhere there is a team that is over the top happy about an incredibly successful explosion. Their job was to make sure that if flight path deviated beyond some threshhold that the whole vehicle would be blown into tiny parts that would become ballistically safe. They were on the edge of their seats on how well that would work. They saw the lift off team celebrate their success. They saw the booster team fist pumpi…

This reads strangely like a PR damage control post
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