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which makes me curious, how many boosters are crashed into the ocean and what are the rules regarding them? From toxins to salvage. I know we have dumped far wo
by Shivetya 12y ago
which makes me curious, how many boosters are crashed into the ocean and what are the rules regarding them? From toxins to salvage. I know we have dumped far worse into the ocean, its littered with munitions for instance.
- baq 12y agoi'd say that most rockets blow up when propellant mixes with oxygen during the crash, if there are any left. they probably burn it all before reentry.
- logfromblammo 12y agoFirst stage rockets likely break into pieces upon hitting the water and sink to the ocean floor. Higher stages burn up in the atmosphere. Debris from a successful launch are usually not worth worrying about. Failed launches, on the other hand, could contain unburned propellants, hypergolic fuels, radioactive or toxic payloads, and may come down as a blazing fireball on top of something that otherwise would have expected no more than a speck of metal oxides.
- toomuchtodo 12y ago> and may come down as a blazing fireball on top of something that otherwise would have expected no more than a speck of metal oxides. Not if range safety is doing their job.
- logfromblammo 12y agoI recall seeing a video of a solid rocket booster that destroyed several cars in a parking lot with flaming chunks of partially burned propellant. Range safety cannot reasonably be expected to protect everywhere that a rocket could possibly reach. In the worst case scenario, it must intentionally destroy the vehicle if it may stray outside the protected area such that the debris remain within it. If you work on a launch complex, make sure you have good insurance.