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Old August 3rd 08, 05:57 PM posted to sci.space.history
BradGuth
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Posts: 21,544
Default Good luck, Falcon 1

On Aug 3, 8:41 am, wrote:
On Aug 3, 9:45 am, Pat Flannery wrote:



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."
.......................feel as upset now, as I did about 40 years back,when Ranger 6,failed to make a soft landing on the Moon (for younger viewers,R 1 & 2,never left Earth orbit,don't think they were aimed at the Moon anyway and R 3-6 all failed in various ways.)


Watching the vid of the Ist launch attempt,(haven't got to Launch 2
yet,I'm on dial up etc) seems like there was a party going on in the
background...!! Guess they are being just too "gung ho".......Maybe
the mystery investor is Bill Gates,who might "give" 'em a few
Gidzillions .................? Anyway,what a crying
shame.......................


If they can't manage to properly incorporate explosive bolts, then
what else is marginal or deficient?

What was the all-inclusive inert GLOW of Falcon?

~ Brad Guth Brad_Guth Brad.Guth BradGuth