SpaceX Comm/Facebook Satellite toast.
SpaceX Comm/Facebook Satellite toast.
(OP)
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SpaceX Comm/Facebook Satellite toast.
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SpaceX Comm/Facebook Satellite toast.SpaceX Comm/Facebook Satellite toast.(OP)
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RE: SpaceX Comm/Facebook Satellite toast.
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RE: SpaceX Comm/Facebook Satellite toast.
Even still, the launch complex will be closed for months...
RE: SpaceX Comm/Facebook Satellite toast.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_BgJEXQkjNQ
It's sooOO cool(hot?) to see all the paint facing the launch pad on the lightning diverters flashing into gas, then being sucked into the updraft caused by the bazillion kilocalorie fireball. Watch for it just after the big fireball.
Keith Cress
kcress - http://www.flaminsystems.com
RE: SpaceX Comm/Facebook Satellite toast.
John R. Baker, P.E. (ret)
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RE: SpaceX Comm/Facebook Satellite toast.
RE: SpaceX Comm/Facebook Satellite toast.
Mike McCann, PE, SE (WA)
RE: SpaceX Comm/Facebook Satellite toast.
Funny that we have been building rocket engines since the 60's, and we can't just follow an older engine design?
But this looked like it was above the engines, or maybe the last stage.
RE: SpaceX Comm/Facebook Satellite toast.
RE: SpaceX Comm/Facebook Satellite toast.
Sheesh, risk management must not be a subject at SpaceX.
RE: SpaceX Comm/Facebook Satellite toast.
Space is hard enough without MBAs making the decisions.
RE: SpaceX Comm/Facebook Satellite toast.
It appears failure is an option, but not a choice. Then again we don't do these things because they are easy, but because they are hard (The last part?).
RE: SpaceX Comm/Facebook Satellite toast.
Static fire test results: positive for fire; is that a success to an MBA?
Risking the payload for a static test sounds colossally stupid on its face.
Mike Halloran
Pembroke Pines, FL, USA
RE: SpaceX Comm/Facebook Satellite toast.
Or...Overconfidence?
Mike McCann, PE, SE (WA)
RE: SpaceX Comm/Facebook Satellite toast.
TTFN (ta ta for now)
I can do absolutely anything. I'm an expert! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BKorP55Aqvg
FAQ731-376: Eng-Tips.com Forum Policies forum1529: Translation Assistance for Engineers
RE: SpaceX Comm/Facebook Satellite toast.
(I'm definitely not a rocket engineer, just an enthusiast) I believe 2nd stage is integrated and fueled to test the fuel loading and associated hardware on the 2nd stage. As for the payload they recently got approved by their insurance to integrate the payload before the static fire which apparently saves them a day of work. Obviously that was a bad idea and I suspect they will be doing some re-evaluation of risk management to avoid one accident turning into many others.
I wonder if rushing to try to save days was a result of the failure of CRS-7 and trying to catch up to their launch schedule.
Professional and Structural Engineer (ME, NH, MA)
American Concrete Industries
www.americanconcrete.com
RE: SpaceX Comm/Facebook Satellite toast.
RE: SpaceX Comm/Facebook Satellite toast.
TTFN (ta ta for now)
I can do absolutely anything. I'm an expert! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BKorP55Aqvg
FAQ731-376: Eng-Tips.com Forum Policies forum1529: Translation Assistance for Engineers
RE: SpaceX Comm/Facebook Satellite toast.
Pushing the boundaries is harder
SpaceX is the first one to use sub-cooled LOX and chilled RP1.
They do this to get more fuel in the rocket; more fuel in the rocket works to defy the tyranny of the rocket equation. Everyone else (NASA, ULA, ESA, China, Russia as far as I can tell) uses LOX at boiling point, so there is a lot of experience there, but the experience is limited on LOX near the freezing point especially for high volume handling of the stuff. O2 melting/freezing point -361°F, Boiling/condensing point -297°F. That extra 64 degrees can make the difference in piping, hoses, valves, you name it.
As for why load the second stage, the static fire test is more than just a test of the first stage engines, it is a test of the entire launch procedure, so doing everything as if it were a real launch is part of the test. Their corrective actions during a launch is very limited due to the design of the booster, they want to launch on the first second of the window otherwise the too much LOX warms up and boils off and the RP1 will also warm up and spill out. Doing a full launch test during the static fire test proves out the other procedures so launch day goes smoother.
Good luck to SpaceX to finding the cause and the causes behind the cause.
Hydrae
RE: SpaceX Comm/Facebook Satellite toast.
Looking at the initial explosion you can see, what probably is, a pipe fitting being launched up and away from the fueling connection area.
Note the two pieces in this frame.
I wonder if someone left a greasy fingerprint somewhere that the LOX took offense at.
Keith Cress
kcress - http://www.flaminsystems.com
RE: SpaceX Comm/Facebook Satellite toast.
If you're not seeing the above it's:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ye0EOENUw0c
Keith Cress
kcress - http://www.flaminsystems.com
RE: SpaceX Comm/Facebook Satellite toast.
Dan - Owner
http://www.Hi-TecDesigns.com
RE: SpaceX Comm/Facebook Satellite toast.
Professional and Structural Engineer (ME, NH, MA)
American Concrete Industries
www.americanconcrete.com
RE: SpaceX Comm/Facebook Satellite toast.
Seems they froze their liquid oxygen into solid oxygen and that caused problems.
RE: SpaceX Comm/Facebook Satellite toast.
If the static test is satisfactory, then you unbolt and remove the safety rocket before the real launch. Or leave it on the capsule to recover the satellite if the main rocket goes off at the real launch.
Or, after a few seconds of flight, use the thrust from the emergency rocket to add a few lbs of thrust while in flight. Then eject the empty safety rocket.
RE: SpaceX Comm/Facebook Satellite toast.
Attaching an escape tower on top of it (a la mercury capsule) would require substantial reinforcement of the fairing to allow it to support the weight of the satellite multiplied by the lift-off acceleration of the escape rockets. That will be many more times the load the fairing can handle without substantial reinforcement.
And then there's the matter of landing the escaped capsule safely...
This is complex and expensive enough that I think it's only been justified for capsules carrying humans.
STF