Accident at Cape

On 9/1/2016 11:06 AM, JF Mezei wrote:
As you have probably heard, a Falcon 9 had an "anomaly" with large sound
and lots of smoke. SpaceX confirmed loss of rocket and payload that was
about to do a firing test.

SpaceX seems perplexed, so apparently there will be no quick answers to
this accident. If the cause involved something as simple as the false
operation of a destructive charge, surely we would know by now. The
Falcon 9 fuel and oxidizer (and the handling thereof) are certainly
nothing new to the space industry. Yes, oxygen can be dangerous stuff,
but folks have been loading LOX into rockets for decades now, and I can
recall no similar launch pad accidents.

Can anyone else cite a similar incident?

This may seem farfetched but... Can we confidently exclude some sort of
foul play?

In article , says...

On 9/1/2016 11:06 AM, JF Mezei wrote:
As you have probably heard, a Falcon 9 had an "anomaly" with large sound
and lots of smoke. SpaceX confirmed loss of rocket and payload that was
about to do a firing test.

SpaceX seems perplexed, so apparently there will be no quick answers to
this accident. If the cause involved something as simple as the false
operation of a destructive charge, surely we would know by now. The
Falcon 9 fuel and oxidizer (and the handling thereof) are certainly
nothing new to the space industry. Yes, oxygen can be dangerous stuff,
but folks have been loading LOX into rockets for decades now, and I can
recall no similar launch pad accidents.

SpaceX is using sub-cooled LOX. Sub-cooled LOX is a new thing and in
some ways is pushing the edge of the envelope.

Jeff
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