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There's always the possibility of a rocket blowing up during launch, which is why self-destruct devices are installed on all of them, so that range safety can p
by HarryHirsch 3y ago
There's always the possibility of a rocket blowing up during launch, which is why self-destruct devices are installed on all of them, so that range safety can prevent destruction to populated areas.
But with the launchpad being in the state that it was in, disaster was a certainty.
- bryanlarsen 3y agoWhy was it a certainty? There was only minor erosion during the 30 engine static fire, and the launch was only about 30% more energetic than the static fire.
- HarryHirsch 3y agoIt's rocket science - rocketry is a mature engineering discipline. NASA found out in the 1960's that you need a flame trench + water deluge system to manage the exhaust plume, especially the vibrations. What happened to the idea of baking in a generous safety margin. Fred Brooks had a whole chapter on Brooklyn Bridge, at some point projects are so large that you cannot run them by pantseat.
- bryanlarsen 3y agoAnd SpaceX has a culture of not overbuilding. "The best part is no part", "If you're not adding back 10% of the parts you deleted, you're not deleting enough parts". That culture is a good part of the reason they are completely wiping the floor of the competition. The Falcon9 v1.2 is the only rocket that has flown more than 5 times and has never failed a mission so it's hard to question the SpaceX safety culture.
- bell-cot 3y agoSelf-destruct devices are for the "rocket off course, headed toward vulnerable areas..." failure modes. If the rocket has already blown itself up...well, the burning wreckage will only respond to commands from gravity and air resistance. (Yes, I know about the SRB's during the Challenger disaster. They certainly had not "blown up", and certainly were headed in unpredictable directions.)