3 ms·

Ok, assume that I've also read the article. What does the "pin" part of "LOX pin" refer to?

• HPsquared 2y ago
  It's a plug that was inserted to block a damaged passageway. It fell out and hit the (fragile) wall of the nozzle which is hollow and itself full of tubes. Ironic really, that a leak prevention patch job ended up causing a different leak.
  • amelius 2y ago
    Conclusion: never trust a vehicle that was patched in any way.
    • mulmen 2y ago
      That leaves you with single use vehicles. You have never been on an airliner without a patch. SpaceX is famously making a business of operating rockets the same way.
      • amelius 2y ago
        Well, I hereby introduce "patch-only manufacturing", where every vehicle is patched, even new ones. That way, you reduce variations between vehicles, hopefully making them more reliable. If every vehicle is patched and it is part of normal manufacturing, then you could say that none of them are patched.
        • mulmen 2y ago
          > If every vehicle is patched and it is part of normal manufacturing, then you could say that none of them are patched. This is only true if they are all patched in exactly the same way and if you patch existing examples in the field. In the real world patches are applied as repairs to incidents that are unique to each example. Airliners are too expensive to throw away because of minor flaws and damage.