3 ms·

Do you have a source for it being uncommon? See https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z-89xl-v0gs&t=2590s https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z-89xl-v0gs&t=2590s for a r

• JumpCrisscross 4y ago
  That’s an engine test. Not a rocket with payload attached.
  • btilly 4y ago
    You're moving the goalposts. Still, https://www.noozhawk.com/article/missile_test_ends_in_explosion_seconds_after_launch_from_vandenberg_sfb https://www.noozhawk.com/article/missile_test_ends_in_explos... is a rocket that blew up early last month, 11 seconds into flight. See https://www.space.com/biggest-launch-failures-2021 https://www.space.com/biggest-launch-failures-2021 for a list of notable failures last year. Failures, particularly with new rockets, are much more common than you believe.
    • JumpCrisscross 4y ago
      > You're moving the goalposts Don’t believe I am. I specifically caveated “at this stage, assembled and fuelled on the pad” because an engine under a fully-assembled rocket has assumptions made about it that one on the test stand obviously does not. > list of notable failures last year How many of these are engine failures? None, based on my scan. The engine can be tested separately. That makes them wildly more predictable in a way the rest of the rocket, which can’t usually be similarly tested, is not. As someone with a background in aerospace engineering, I perk up when someone’s engine fails at the pad, because that—nowadays—shouldn’t happen.