Damon Hill wrote:
I'd guess the investigation will be looking at the performance of the
new regen version of the Merlin, and at guidance. The roll oscillation
was certainly suspicious but things otherwise looked relatively normal
until the video feed quit.

Possibly the vehicle was off-course, which could have been guidance or
engine malfunction/underperformance. At some point a computer or flight
safety pushes the red button...


Two different stories now... Musk said everything was going perfect till
explosive bolts that were supposed to separate the two stages failed to
fire despite a doubly redundant firing system (not Russian explosive
bolts by any chance? ;-) ). People who watched the video say the
vehicle developed oscillations well prior to stage separation.
After the anomaly, all contact with the rocket was lost, so no one knows
exactly where it ended up.
Anyway, the ashes of Scotty and Gordon Cooper now lie in a watery grave,
along with those of 206 other people.
"A space launch vehicle? Ai...and if my grandmother had wheels, she'd be
a cart."

Pat