3 ms·

How big is the upper-stage cryogenic helium tank? I imagine not very large, and it's not obvious to me exactly where it is placed. The hypothesized saboteur w

• lvs 10y ago
  The volume of a rocket is predominantly composed of fuel. And even if a puncture doesn't cause an anomaly at sea level, it most certainly will upon some flight condition.
  • ygra 10y ago
    You don't shoot the rocket in a static fire I'd you want it to explode in flight, though.
• imaginenore 10y ago
  They don't have to hit just the helium tank to cause the explosion. Any fuel tank would probably do.
  • samcheng 10y ago
    If the failure has been isolated to the helium tank, that further debunks the 'sniper' hypothesis, right?
    • imaginenore 10y ago
      In what way?
      • samcheng 10y ago
        Well, if any tank failure would cause an explosion, wouldn't the hypothetical sniper aim at a big tank? Not a tiny flask located inside another tank.
        • jevinskie 10y ago
          The hypothetical sniper could have been aiming at a large tank, missed, and luckily hit the helium tank. Hypothetically, of course. :P
          • meepmorp 10y ago
            If the smaller tank is contained within the larger tank, that seems like an impossibly lucky shot.
• mikeyouse 10y ago
  They're not that large, about the size of a person; https://i.imgur.com/K3H7mdY.jpg https://i.imgur.com/K3H7mdY.jpg
  • Florin_Andrei 10y ago
    A sniper could hit that from 1 km distance. I'm not saying that's what necessarily happened. I'm saying a sniper could very well do that.