4 ms·

SpaceX Falcon rocket explodes on landing after delivering satellite to space

36 points by srgseg 11y ago

srgseg 11y ago
Larger size video: https://www.instagram.com/p/BAqirNbwEc0/ https://www.instagram.com/p/BAqirNbwEc0/
- hanniabu 11y ago
  I missed it live because of the lag. After watching this, it's definitely a lot better than many reports make it seem. It actually seems like it was a successful landing, but then tipped most likely due to the motion of the ocean combined with the relatively small supports. For an object that long and thin that's swaying, I'm surprised it doesn't have longer supports.
  - chli 11y ago
    It tipped because a leg didn't latch, as mentioned in the article AND on the instagram video provided by @elonmusk.
    - hanniabu 11y ago
      Silly me...looked at it on mobile and didn't notice/acknowledge the 'More Information' button. I thought the link was just a video and caption.
    - MicroBerto 11y ago
      They said something about ice on TV?
      - jvzr 11y ago
        Apparently the thing that receives part of the leg and get it latched to the rocket was frozen (because of fog at the launch pad) and resulted in the leg being free and allowed to move.
klum 11y ago
The headline and article make it sound like this was some huge failure, while in reality the mission was a success and the landing a test which almost worked out.
- Mithaldu 11y ago
  It's honestly quite amazing just how well on-target that thing landed, given the speed it's doing it at, and the distance it went. Tipping over due to a small component failure is roughly the same category of issue as a small css styling oversight on a website on launch.
  - klum 11y ago
    Yep! I don't know for sure but to me it looked like the landing would have been successful if not for the leg issue.
  - Cyph0n 11y ago
    But unfortunately in the real world, unlike a small CSS issue, lives are at stake.
  - Piskvorrr 11y ago
    Good thing that CSS doesn't explode quite as literally and violently as rocket fuel does, then ;)
ChicagoBoy11 11y ago
There's something really special about the fact that Musk himself posts these videos of SpaceX's "failures", and has generally been very candid about his setbacks with this companies. So often narratives of great achievements are told/shown in such a way as though it were destiny, like those involved were geniuses who knew the right path all along. That's not how real work -- of any kind, looks like. What a tremendous lesson for young people everywhere to see Musk share his work -- the successes and failures -- with the world. I loved Gene Kranz's "Failure is not an option," but outside of the specific context in which it was used, it is a terrible slogan. Failure, actually, ought to be the only option, in the sense that if you are never failing you likely are falling short of whatever it is that you could potentially accomplish. Nowadays there is this idea of instilling in kids a "growth" mindset, in the sense that you ought not praise them for "intelligence" or how smart they are, since these things are immutable. Rather, praising them for their effort and perseverance, which can be nurtured, likely helps instill in them these very values, which often are far better predictors of success than intelligence itself. I hope at some point we collectively start thinking about great founders, or companies, or amazing things society builds in the same way. Instead of story after story praising Musk for being the "real iron-man," maybe we should publicize the electric car movie where you see him walk into a garage in the middle of the night filled with cars with production issues, with a clear look of despair on his face. SpaceX is now the leader of private space aviation, but at one point Musk had to bank the company on a single launch because, well... all other ones had failed. He is undoubtedly the innovator of our generation. But it's not because he is smart (which he undoubtedly is), or a visionary (again, ditto), but in addition to these things, he is working very, very, very hard. And has failed -- a lot. And picked himself up every time. This is incredibly inspiring stuff, and makes you root for the guy (and companies) even more.
- madaxe_again 11y ago
  Successful people aren't successful because they succeed a lot - they're successful because they fail a lot, and don't let it deter them. Failure is success, as long as you learn something from it. If you learn nothing, then you failed before you even started.
Shivetya 11y ago
I would not say it exploded on landing, it landed just fine. When you break apart a device full of things that like to go boom and provide a spark your bound to have an explosion. Got to love the audacity of landing on a barge in the ocean instead of land. So why is he doing this? Is it possible he wants to be as neutral going forward? Will he start building rockets on a seaborne platform as well? Go full Bond super-villain on us. Seriously though, why not buy an island.
- nickik 11y ago
  Going back to where you came from cost far more fuel. Every kilogram of fuel you save is extra profit. Also some places you are not allowed to land with a rocket.
  - adwn 11y ago
    No, the cost of the fuel is almost entirely irrelevant; the entire fuel for the rocket launch is less than 1% of the total cost. The motivation behind saving fuel by landing on a barge is that the fuel thus saved can be transformed into additional speed of the upper stage, enabling a larger payload.
    - nickik 11y ago
      Literally what I said 'Every kilogram of fuel you save is extra profit.'. They make profit by sending payload into space.
      - adwn 11y ago
        > "Every kilogram of fuel you save is extra profit." No, it's not: Additional performance (i.e., payload capacity) does not get them more money from a customer if that customer's payload doesn't require more performance. If you want to be pedantic you might argue that more performance allows for more customers, but then not "every kilogram" is extra profit, because the spectrum is not continuous.
  - Piskvorrr 11y ago
deleted 11y ago
[deleted]

36 points by srgseg 11y ago

srgseg 11y ago

Larger size video: https://www.instagram.com/p/BAqirNbwEc0/ https://www.instagram.com/p/BAqirNbwEc0/

hanniabu 11y ago
I missed it live because of the lag. After watching this, it's definitely a lot better than many reports make it seem. It actually seems like it was a successful landing, but then tipped most likely due to the motion of the ocean combined with the relatively small supports. For an object that long and thin that's swaying, I'm surprised it doesn't have longer supports.
- chli 11y ago
  It tipped because a leg didn't latch, as mentioned in the article AND on the instagram video provided by @elonmusk.
  - hanniabu 11y ago
    Silly me...looked at it on mobile and didn't notice/acknowledge the 'More Information' button. I thought the link was just a video and caption.
  - MicroBerto 11y ago
    They said something about ice on TV?
    - jvzr 11y ago
      Apparently the thing that receives part of the leg and get it latched to the rocket was frozen (because of fog at the launch pad) and resulted in the leg being free and allowed to move.

klum 11y ago

The headline and article make it sound like this was some huge failure, while in reality the mission was a success and the landing a test which almost worked out.

Mithaldu 11y ago
It's honestly quite amazing just how well on-target that thing landed, given the speed it's doing it at, and the distance it went. Tipping over due to a small component failure is roughly the same category of issue as a small css styling oversight on a website on launch.
- klum 11y ago
  Yep! I don't know for sure but to me it looked like the landing would have been successful if not for the leg issue.
- Cyph0n 11y ago
  But unfortunately in the real world, unlike a small CSS issue, lives are at stake.
- Piskvorrr 11y ago
  Good thing that CSS doesn't explode quite as literally and violently as rocket fuel does, then ;)

ChicagoBoy11 11y ago

There's something really special about the fact that Musk himself posts these videos of SpaceX's "failures", and has generally been very candid about his setbacks with this companies. So often narratives of great achievements are told/shown in such a way as though it were destiny, like those involved were geniuses who knew the right path all along. That's not how real work -- of any kind, looks like. What a tremendous lesson for young people everywhere to see Musk share his work -- the successes and failures -- with the world. I loved Gene Kranz's "Failure is not an option," but outside of the specific context in which it was used, it is a terrible slogan. Failure, actually, ought to be the only option, in the sense that if you are never failing you likely are falling short of whatever it is that you could potentially accomplish. Nowadays there is this idea of instilling in kids a "growth" mindset, in the sense that you ought not praise them for "intelligence" or how smart they are, since these things are immutable. Rather, praising them for their effort and perseverance, which can be nurtured, likely helps instill in them these very values, which often are far better predictors of success than intelligence itself. I hope at some point we collectively start thinking about great founders, or companies, or amazing things society builds in the same way. Instead of story after story praising Musk for being the "real iron-man," maybe we should publicize the electric car movie where you see him walk into a garage in the middle of the night filled with cars with production issues, with a clear look of despair on his face. SpaceX is now the leader of private space aviation, but at one point Musk had to bank the company on a single launch because, well... all other ones had failed. He is undoubtedly the innovator of our generation. But it's not because he is smart (which he undoubtedly is), or a visionary (again, ditto), but in addition to these things, he is working very, very, very hard. And has failed -- a lot. And picked himself up every time. This is incredibly inspiring stuff, and makes you root for the guy (and companies) even more.

madaxe_again 11y ago
Successful people aren't successful because they succeed a lot - they're successful because they fail a lot, and don't let it deter them. Failure is success, as long as you learn something from it. If you learn nothing, then you failed before you even started.

Shivetya 11y ago

I would not say it exploded on landing, it landed just fine. When you break apart a device full of things that like to go boom and provide a spark your bound to have an explosion. Got to love the audacity of landing on a barge in the ocean instead of land. So why is he doing this? Is it possible he wants to be as neutral going forward? Will he start building rockets on a seaborne platform as well? Go full Bond super-villain on us. Seriously though, why not buy an island.

nickik 11y ago
Going back to where you came from cost far more fuel. Every kilogram of fuel you save is extra profit. Also some places you are not allowed to land with a rocket.
- adwn 11y ago
  No, the cost of the fuel is almost entirely irrelevant; the entire fuel for the rocket launch is less than 1% of the total cost. The motivation behind saving fuel by landing on a barge is that the fuel thus saved can be transformed into additional speed of the upper stage, enabling a larger payload.
  - nickik 11y ago
    Literally what I said 'Every kilogram of fuel you save is extra profit.'. They make profit by sending payload into space.
    - adwn 11y ago
      > "Every kilogram of fuel you save is extra profit." No, it's not: Additional performance (i.e., payload capacity) does not get them more money from a customer if that customer's payload doesn't require more performance. If you want to be pedantic you might argue that more performance allows for more customers, but then not "every kilogram" is extra profit, because the spectrum is not continuous.
- Piskvorrr 11y ago

deleted 11y ago

[deleted]