4 ms·

It wasn’t that long ago they drilled a hole in a Soyuz, then patched it with epoxy and sent it up anyway, only for the epoxy to come out and cause a leak.

fsh 4y ago
Also not that long ago, they tried launching a Proton M which had the angular velocity sensors installed upside down: https://www.russianspaceweb.com/proton_glonass49.html#culprit https://www.russianspaceweb.com/proton_glonass49.html#culpri... Looks like decades of rampant corruption and political violence are not exactly good for high-tech industry. Who would have thought?
- LarryMullins 4y ago
  Once in KSP Iinstalled MechJeb (a modded autopilot component) upsidedown and my rocket failed in precisely this way, trying to make a u-turn right off the launch pad. Pretty funny to see it happen IRL, since nobody got hurt.
- wcoenen 4y ago
  I don't think you can attribute this failure to a political system. Space is hard. NASA's Genesis sample return capsule also failed due to an upside-down sensor[1]. Fun fact about the Proton M failure: the sensor was designed so that it could only be mounted correctly, but apparently it had been forced in the wrong way somehow. Possibly with a hammer. From [2]: By July 13, investigators simulated the improper installation of the DUS angular velocity sensors on the actual hardware. As it turned out, it would be very difficult to do but not impossible. To achieve that personnel would need to use procedures and instruments not certified either by the design documentation or the installation instructions. As a result, the plate holding the sensors sustained damage. Yet, when the hardware recovered from the accident was delivered to GKNPTs Khrunichev, it was discovered that the nature of the damage to the plate had almost exactly matched the simulated version. [1] https://www.newscientist.com/article/dn9331-crashed-spacecraft-was-faster-cheaper-but-not-better/ https://www.newscientist.com/article/dn9331-crashed-spacecra... [2] https://www.russianspaceweb.com/proton_glonass49.html#culprit https://www.russianspaceweb.com/proton_glonass49.html#culpri...
LarryMullins 4y ago
As far as I can tell, the evidence for the hole being drilled then epoxied on Earth amounts to nobody wanting to believe the alternative (that it was drilled while in orbit.) Here is the hole. Personally, I don't see any trace of epoxy in or around this hole: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/3f/Hole_in_Soyuz_MS-09_docked_to_International_Space_Station.jpg https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/3f/Hole_in_... (To be clear, it's the small hole, not the big one next to it. The small hole next to the paint marred by a slipping drill bit.)
- fsh 4y ago
  The epoxy was applied on the outside and was later covered by insulation. Here is a picture from the EVA where they cut away the insulation and located it: https://i.insider.com/5c112efc4a8213310205a17b https://i.insider.com/5c112efc4a8213310205a17b
- sonofhans 4y ago
  I’ve worked with epoxy quite a bit, and delaminating is one of its failure modes. That is, sometimes it flakes off cleanly without leaving much behind. Having said that, it’s hard to believe that there wouldn’t be traces of epoxy inside that very rough hole, or in the bare metal exposed by the drill bit. So it seems odd to me also.

fsh 4y ago

Also not that long ago, they tried launching a Proton M which had the angular velocity sensors installed upside down: https://www.russianspaceweb.com/proton_glonass49.html#culprit https://www.russianspaceweb.com/proton_glonass49.html#culpri... Looks like decades of rampant corruption and political violence are not exactly good for high-tech industry. Who would have thought?

LarryMullins 4y ago
Once in KSP Iinstalled MechJeb (a modded autopilot component) upsidedown and my rocket failed in precisely this way, trying to make a u-turn right off the launch pad. Pretty funny to see it happen IRL, since nobody got hurt.
wcoenen 4y ago
I don't think you can attribute this failure to a political system. Space is hard. NASA's Genesis sample return capsule also failed due to an upside-down sensor[1]. Fun fact about the Proton M failure: the sensor was designed so that it could only be mounted correctly, but apparently it had been forced in the wrong way somehow. Possibly with a hammer. From [2]: By July 13, investigators simulated the improper installation of the DUS angular velocity sensors on the actual hardware. As it turned out, it would be very difficult to do but not impossible. To achieve that personnel would need to use procedures and instruments not certified either by the design documentation or the installation instructions. As a result, the plate holding the sensors sustained damage. Yet, when the hardware recovered from the accident was delivered to GKNPTs Khrunichev, it was discovered that the nature of the damage to the plate had almost exactly matched the simulated version. [1] https://www.newscientist.com/article/dn9331-crashed-spacecraft-was-faster-cheaper-but-not-better/ https://www.newscientist.com/article/dn9331-crashed-spacecra... [2] https://www.russianspaceweb.com/proton_glonass49.html#culprit https://www.russianspaceweb.com/proton_glonass49.html#culpri...

LarryMullins 4y ago

As far as I can tell, the evidence for the hole being drilled then epoxied on Earth amounts to nobody wanting to believe the alternative (that it was drilled while in orbit.) Here is the hole. Personally, I don't see any trace of epoxy in or around this hole: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/3f/Hole_in_Soyuz_MS-09_docked_to_International_Space_Station.jpg https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/3f/Hole_in_... (To be clear, it's the small hole, not the big one next to it. The small hole next to the paint marred by a slipping drill bit.)

fsh 4y ago
The epoxy was applied on the outside and was later covered by insulation. Here is a picture from the EVA where they cut away the insulation and located it: https://i.insider.com/5c112efc4a8213310205a17b https://i.insider.com/5c112efc4a8213310205a17b
sonofhans 4y ago
I’ve worked with epoxy quite a bit, and delaminating is one of its failure modes. That is, sometimes it flakes off cleanly without leaving much behind. Having said that, it’s hard to believe that there wouldn’t be traces of epoxy inside that very rough hole, or in the bare metal exposed by the drill bit. So it seems odd to me also.