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The static fire yesterday was enough proof for SpaceX that everything is working as expected. After that the major undetected flaws will show up some time from
by manicdee 10y ago
The static fire yesterday was enough proof for SpaceX that everything is working as expected. After that the major undetected flaws will show up some time from launch through MECO :D
SpaceX will no doubt discover new failure modes that nobody has thought of up till now (and thus were not looking for, and thus did not detect).
- foota 10y agoIn a static fire the rocket is "tied down" to the ground. Do you know how the stress profile presented by this differs from a real launch?
- manicdee 10y agoVastly different, but the most likely point of failure is the moving parts, as tested in the static fire. Other parts that failed had been successfully used in flight so a "dummy launch" would have provided no certainty other than "everything worked this time."
- greglindahl 10y agoThe point of the static fire is to see if the engines work, and make sure that the rocket fueling sequence works. It does not stress the rocket with any aerodynamic forces.
- mikeash 10y agoMajor undetected flaws could also manifest after MECO if something goes wrong during reentry or landing. It would be really interesting if that happens. I wonder how people would react. Here's hoping we don't have to find out.
- ygra 10y agoWell, those are flaws that don't matter much, though, as the primary mission is getting the satellite to orbit. Sure, landing the booster a second time would be nice and awesome, but usually they tend to learn much more from failures than from successes.