3 ms·

> no idea if it was supposed to be running on two, then one engine Yeah and then something caught fire near the engines. I expected it to explode that very mom

> no idea if it was supposed to be running on two, then one engine Yeah and then something caught fire near the engines. I expected it to explode that very moment.

Filligree 6y ago
I think that was the ignition system; the green flame matches. Which makes sense if they lost an engine, of course.
- remarkEon 6y ago
  What's the reason that the flame produced by the ignition system is green? Edit: ah, it's answered here https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=25366736 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=25366736
  - elteto 6y ago
    That’s incorrect. Raptor does not use a TEA/TEB igniter like Falcon. It uses a spark igniter. The green flame here is unintended engine ablation :) The chamber was melting.
    - ArPDent 6y ago
      specifically it's copper being vaporized i believe
      - remarkEon 6y ago
        Nice. Flashbacks to highschool chemistry. I'm assuming this isn't something you want to have happen ...
        SAI_Peregrinus 6y ago
        No, engine-rich combustion cycles are definitely not something you usually want. Especially not on a re-usable craft.
- Gwypaas 6y ago
  The merlin engine uses TEA-TEB which causes the green flame seen on Falcon 9. The raptor uses electric spark ignition, which is harder but doesn't require any awfully poisonous chemicals and you can't run out. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SpaceX_Raptor https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SpaceX_Raptor
- grishka 6y ago
  No, not that, I meant the moment when one of the three engines shut off mid air and then moved away a bit so the remaining ones point straight down.
AnimalMuppet 6y ago
Delayed gratification by a few minutes, but we got the pretty fireball in the end...
oska 6y ago
> Yeah and then something caught fire near the engines. This is an artifact of air flow vortices around the base of the rocket and its skirt and is completely normal. This video [1] explains it well. [1] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yJceyvBKxc0&t=15m14s https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yJceyvBKxc0&t=15m14s

> no idea if it was supposed to be running on two, then one engine Yeah and then something caught fire near the engines. I expected it to explode that very moment.

Filligree 6y ago

I think that was the ignition system; the green flame matches. Which makes sense if they lost an engine, of course.

remarkEon 6y ago
What's the reason that the flame produced by the ignition system is green? Edit: ah, it's answered here https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=25366736 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=25366736
- elteto 6y ago
  That’s incorrect. Raptor does not use a TEA/TEB igniter like Falcon. It uses a spark igniter. The green flame here is unintended engine ablation :) The chamber was melting.
  - ArPDent 6y ago
    specifically it's copper being vaporized i believe
    - remarkEon 6y ago
      Nice. Flashbacks to highschool chemistry. I'm assuming this isn't something you want to have happen ...
      - SAI_Peregrinus 6y ago
        No, engine-rich combustion cycles are definitely not something you usually want. Especially not on a re-usable craft.
Gwypaas 6y ago
The merlin engine uses TEA-TEB which causes the green flame seen on Falcon 9. The raptor uses electric spark ignition, which is harder but doesn't require any awfully poisonous chemicals and you can't run out. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SpaceX_Raptor https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SpaceX_Raptor
grishka 6y ago
No, not that, I meant the moment when one of the three engines shut off mid air and then moved away a bit so the remaining ones point straight down.

AnimalMuppet 6y ago

Delayed gratification by a few minutes, but we got the pretty fireball in the end...

oska 6y ago

> Yeah and then something caught fire near the engines. This is an artifact of air flow vortices around the base of the rocket and its skirt and is completely normal. This video [1] explains it well. [1] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yJceyvBKxc0&t=15m14s https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yJceyvBKxc0&t=15m14s