4 ms·
Is a deployment bus really that complicated? It's what, a girder with a couple of solenoids or explosive bolts?
by quotemstr 7y ago
Is a deployment bus really that complicated? It's what, a girder with a couple of solenoids or explosive bolts?
- ben_w 7y agoGiven the nose cone fairings cost $6 million [0], I don’t think anything in space tech can be non-complicated and useful at the same time. [0] If it were literally any other company in space, I would accuse them of porkbarrelling. SpaceX looks like it is genuinely concerned with cost, so I don’t think that’s happening in this case.
- 101404 7y agoIf I remember correctly, SpX is one of the few (only) who doesn't use explosives for their fairing separation or sat releases. Just some springs, because "they can be tested before the flight".
- m4rtink 7y agoAnd even though very reliable, explosive bolts do fail, sometimes spectacularly. Just a few years ago an Indian PSLV fairing separation failed, yet released the sattelite inside the closed fairing, which did reach orbit. As it could not get out, this was a failed launch & IIRC the failed fairing separation mechanism was pyrotechnic.