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Aside from what Klathmon says, the rocket is actually quite fragile. Falling into the ocean would cause it to break up. Even the one they 'soft landed' (a prac
by will_hughes 11y ago
Aside from what Klathmon says, the rocket is actually quite fragile.
Falling into the ocean would cause it to break up. Even the one they 'soft landed' (a practice run before landing on the barge) broke up.
- peeters 11y agoYes, think of the stage as a Coke can. It takes orders of magnitude more force to crumple it by pushing on the top of the can than by pushing on the side. The first stage is the same way; it is designed to withstand forces along the longitudinal axis (thrust and drag) but not really from the sides. The sides just have to withstand the pressure of the Coke/fuel.