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SpaceX Reusable Rocket Prototype Explodes Over Texas



 
 
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  #1  
Old August 24th 14, 01:40 AM posted to sci.space.policy
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Default SpaceX Reusable Rocket Prototype Explodes Over Texas

"A reusable rocket prototype built by the private spaceflight company SpaceX
exploded over the firm's Texas proving grounds Friday (Aug. 22) after an anomaly
forced the destruction of the craft.

The SpaceX rocket detonation occurred over McGregor, Texas, where SpaceX has been
testing reusable rocket technology using its prototype Falcon 9 Reusable (or F9R)
vehicle. One observer video shows debris falling from the sky just after the
explosion."

See:

http://www.space.com/26921-spacex-re...xas-video.html
  #2  
Old August 25th 14, 06:40 PM posted to sci.space.policy
Jeff Findley[_4_]
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Default SpaceX Reusable Rocket Prototype Explodes Over Texas

In article ,
says...

"A reusable rocket prototype built by the private spaceflight company SpaceX
exploded over the firm's Texas proving grounds Friday (Aug. 22) after an anomaly
forced the destruction of the craft.

The SpaceX rocket detonation occurred over McGregor, Texas, where SpaceX has been
testing reusable rocket technology using its prototype Falcon 9 Reusable (or F9R)
vehicle. One observer video shows debris falling from the sky just after the
explosion."

See:

http://www.space.com/26921-spacex-re...xas-video.html

The price of progress. The upside is that the building of second F9R
was already underway and it is supposed to be flying from New Mexico, so
won't suffer from the (lower) altitude restrictions imposed on the Texas
test site. Having more than one test vehicle is always a good thing,
otherwise loss of vehicle means loss of the test program (e.g. DC-XA
landing gear failure).

Jeff
--
"the perennial claim that hypersonic airbreathing propulsion would
magically make space launch cheaper is nonsense -- LOX is much cheaper
than advanced airbreathing engines, and so are the tanks to put it in
and the extra thrust to carry it." - Henry Spencer
  #3  
Old August 28th 14, 05:07 PM posted to sci.space.policy,sci.astro,sci.physics,rec.arts.sf.science
Rick Jones
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Default SpaceX Reusable Rocket Prototype Explodes Over Texas

In sci.space.policy Jeff Findley wrote:
For now, it's looking like that's not a big issue. So far, the
Falcon 9R tests (up to the latest which had to be destroyed during
flight, not landing) have all been successful during the landing
phase. If this were an issue, I think we would have seen a failure
sooner than now and it would have been during landing.


Was the "during flight" test object an F9R or was that a Grasshopper?
Anyway, it may have been my Mk I eyeballs not working well with fuzzy
video but that last water landing looked like the stage was not
vertical when it met the water.

rick jones
--
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these opinions are mine, all mine; HP might not want them anyway...
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  #5  
Old August 28th 14, 08:51 PM posted to sci.space.policy,sci.astro,sci.physics,rec.arts.sf.science
Torbjorn Lindgren
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Default SpaceX Reusable Rocket Prototype Explodes Over Texas

Rick Jones wrote:
In sci.space.policy Jeff Findley wrote:
For now, it's looking like that's not a big issue. So far, the
Falcon 9R tests (up to the latest which had to be destroyed during
flight, not landing) have all been successful during the landing
phase. If this were an issue, I think we would have seen a failure
sooner than now and it would have been during landing.


Was the "during flight" test object an F9R or was that a Grasshopper?


Neither really, it was "F9R Dev1" in the "F9R Dev" series, formerly
known as "Grasshopper v1.1". The original Grasshopper was smaller and
used one Merlin-1D.

F9R-Dev1 didn't have all the stuff from F9 that the final product will
have, it was built from an existing F9 v1.1 1st stage (previously used
for F9 "qualification test") in which they put 3 Merlin-1D engines
(F9/F9R obviously have 9) and various electronics and equipment as
needed, I doubt they had the same electronics in it for all the
different tests.

They're now building a F9R Dev2 which sounds like it should be a lot
closer to the final F9R but undoubtedly there will be more tweaking
after the first Dev2 test.

It's possible that if they hadn't been forced to blow Dev1 up, they
would just have kept adding hardware instead of building a new Dev2.

But I expect they're not surprised that somthing blew up, it happens
in rocketry development even you can't necessarily predict WHEN.

http://www.spaceflight101.com/spacex...t-updates.html
  #6  
Old August 28th 14, 10:21 PM posted to sci.space.policy,sci.astro,sci.physics,rec.arts.sf.science
J. Clarke[_2_]
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Posts: 52
Default SpaceX Reusable Rocket Prototype Explodes Over Texas

In article , lid says...

Rick Jones wrote:
In sci.space.policy Jeff Findley wrote:
For now, it's looking like that's not a big issue. So far, the
Falcon 9R tests (up to the latest which had to be destroyed during
flight, not landing) have all been successful during the landing
phase. If this were an issue, I think we would have seen a failure
sooner than now and it would have been during landing.


Was the "during flight" test object an F9R or was that a Grasshopper?


Neither really, it was "F9R Dev1" in the "F9R Dev" series, formerly
known as "Grasshopper v1.1". The original Grasshopper was smaller and
used one Merlin-1D.

F9R-Dev1 didn't have all the stuff from F9 that the final product will
have, it was built from an existing F9 v1.1 1st stage (previously used
for F9 "qualification test") in which they put 3 Merlin-1D engines
(F9/F9R obviously have 9) and various electronics and equipment as
needed, I doubt they had the same electronics in it for all the
different tests.

They're now building a F9R Dev2 which sounds like it should be a lot
closer to the final F9R but undoubtedly there will be more tweaking
after the first Dev2 test.

It's possible that if they hadn't been forced to blow Dev1 up, they
would just have kept adding hardware instead of building a new Dev2.

But I expect they're not surprised that somthing blew up, it happens
in rocketry development even you can't necessarily predict WHEN.


It apparently wasn't a case of "something blew up" though, it appears to
have been a case of "the onboard computer decided that a dangerous (to
the public) situation was about to develop and blew it up as a
precaution". A bit different from "something broke in the engine".

http://www.spaceflight101.com/spacex...t-updates.html


  #7  
Old October 13th 14, 09:56 PM posted to sci.space.policy
David Spain[_4_]
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Default SpaceX Reusable Rocket Prototype Explodes Over Texas

Robert, as your photo clearly shows the exhaust gasses off the pre-burner are steered out of a nozzle that is off axis. This will cause thrust vector problems unless all engines around the octaweb are firing, or unless engine gimbals can compensate for this. IIRC not all engines are to be firing on controlled decent. Do I remember that correctly?

Dave

  #8  
Old October 13th 14, 09:59 PM posted to sci.space.policy
David Spain[_4_]
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Default SpaceX Reusable Rocket Prototype Explodes Over Texas

On Monday, October 13, 2014 4:56:57 PM UTC-4, David Spain wrote:
This will cause thrust vector problems unless all engines around the octaweb are firing,


Or at least their pre-burners. I don't know if the Merlin allows pre-burner operation w/o engine ignition as well.

Dave
  #9  
Old January 11th 15, 06:04 PM posted to sci.space.policy
Alain Fournier[_3_]
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Posts: 548
Default SpaceX Reusable Rocket Prototype Explodes Over Texas

On 1/10/15 3:22 PM, Robert Clark wrote :
The latest Falcon 9 successfully launched today, but the SpaceX attempt
at a first stage barge landing failed


I know there is no good video of the crash because of fog and poor
lighting. But does anyone know where we could see a video even of very
poor quality?


Alain Fournier

  #10  
Old January 12th 15, 12:32 PM posted to sci.space.policy
Bob Haller
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Default SpaceX Reusable Rocket Prototype Explodes Over Texas

On Sunday, January 11, 2015 at 12:04:09 PM UTC-5, Alain Fournier wrote:
On 1/10/15 3:22 PM, Robert Clark wrote :
The latest Falcon 9 successfully launched today, but the SpaceX attempt
at a first stage barge landing failed


I know there is no good video of the crash because of fog and poor
lighting. But does anyone know where we could see a video even of very
poor quality?


Alain Fournier


space x must not have planned a success, or lighting etc would of been better
 




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