SpaceX go boom!

[Mr Spock]

That's it folks, show is over for now 

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/live/science-environment-65330571

[DaveS]

Mutterings that I've heard talk about another launch in August. Booster 9 and Ship 26 are pretty much ready. SpaceX will learn a lot from this test.

[Mr Spock]

They are calling it a success 

[saac]

14 minutes ago, DaveS said:

Mutterings that I've heard talk about another launch in August. Booster 9 and Ship 26 are pretty much ready. SpaceX will learn a lot from this test.

One would hope, I wonder if they will get anything beyond telemetry data!

Jim 

[lukebl]

Apparently they described it as a ‘rapid unscheduled disassembly’.

In my day, we called it an explosion.

[Mr Spock]

At least it wasn't a deceleration trauma 

[DaveS]

33 minutes ago, saac said:

One would hope, I wonder if they will get anything beyond telemetry data!

Jim 

Telemetry data would be good. I could see 6 Raptors out before the bang, and could see some flaming out (Or exploding) during the launch. Given that SpaceX reckon that they need 31 running to reach orbit, this was never going to proceed. Guess they ran it as long as they did to gather as much data as they could.

[DaveS]

25 minutes ago, lukebl said:

Apparently they described it as a ‘rapid unscheduled disassembly’.

In my day, we called it an explosion.

Or possibly an Auto dismantling Event.

[scotty38]

43 minutes ago, Mr Spock said:

They are calling it a success 

Well because it was a test flight, plus as far as I understand it from the commentary it was destroyed "on purpose" as I guess they knew at that point they had as much data as they could get from it.

[billhinge]

Provided you can afford it, better to find the big problems early on than later,  last thing you want are intermittent faults later on

 

[Paul M]

The whole launch looked "sketchy" to me!

I know, this new rocket technology flies differently to old school "light the blue touch paper" rocketry. But there were flares and plumes and puffs of exhaust all the way up to the RUD. 

It was doing wheelies in the end, trying to separate the 1st stage. Like they were trying to shake the thing off!! The Range Safety Officer had all the fun today, hitting the "detonate" button 💥by the look of it.

 

[Macavity]

I have the idea (from somewhere) that larger diameter rockets are envisaged?
Twenty seven out of thirty three ain't bad? ("Two out of Three ain't bad" - ML) 😛



But, I wouldn't have gone for the common bulkhead between Methane & O2! 😉
Casually wonder about venting proximity - I assume concentrations too low...

Edited April 20, 2023 by Macavity

[saac]

2 hours ago, DaveS said:

Telemetry data would be good. I could see 6 Raptors out before the bang, and could see some flaming out (Or exploding) during the launch. Given that SpaceX reckon that they need 31 running to reach orbit, this was never going to proceed. Guess they ran it as long as they did to gather as much data as they could.

It certainly is but it will tell next to nothing about the nature of component failure. Here's hoping they are able to recover as much of the hardware as possible. 

Jim 

[Knighty2112]

15 minutes ago, Macavity said:

I have the idea (from somewhere) that larger diameter rockets are envisaged?
Twenty seven out of thirty three ain't bad? ("Two out of Three ain't bad" - ML) 😛



But, I wouldn't have gone for the common bulkhead between Methane & O2! 😉
Casually wonder about venting proximity - I assume concentrations too low...

Like the Meat Loaf ref!  Miss the big guy!

[DaveS]

15 minutes ago, saac said:

It certainly is but it will tell next to nothing about the nature of component failure. Here's hoping they are able to recover as much of the hardware as possible. 

Jim 

I don't know how detailed the telemetry is. For all I know each engine may have been monitored to the last degree.

[900SL]

I am struggling to see how having 33 separate engines (with all the associated plumbing, hydraulics and wiring) is a beneficial design. To this simple Engineer, it seems like multiple potential points of failure

 

What happened to KISS??

[saac]

13 minutes ago, DaveS said:

I don't know how detailed the telemetry is. For all I know each engine may have been monitored to the last degree.

Telemetry provides performance parameters (pressure, flow rate, temperature, position and displacement etc) it doesn't provide failure mode for that you need to get the physical component for onward analysis. Think of aircraft accident investigation; where they can, they recover as much of the aircraft structure and components as possible for analysis.  Anyway, they know what they are doing and will be all over it. 

Jim 

Edited April 20, 2023 by saac

[saac]

13 minutes ago, 900SL said:

I am struggling to see how having 33 separate engines (with all the associated plumbing, hydraulics and wiring) is a beneficial design. To this simple Engineer, it seems like multiple potential points of failure

 

What happened to KISS??

Sometimes having 33 separate engines is KISS, bear in mind this system is producing twice the trust of the Saturn 5 rocket.  More points of failure sure, but it also brings multiple redundancies. 

Jim 

[900SL]

 

How do they compensate for the off axis thrust? Are the engines independently gimballed / throttled ?

[icpn]

pity Musk was not on it

[DaveS]

The outer ring of engines are fixed, but the 13 inner engines are gimbaled.

[saac]

5 minutes ago, 900SL said:

 

 

How do they compensate for the off axis thrust? Are the engines independently gimballed / throttled ?

I believe all of the engines on the Heavy Lift rocket are independently gimbled - need to confirm for certain but pretty sure that is the case.  

Jim 

[DaveS]

The inner engines are gimbaled using hydraulic actuators but the outer ones are fixed. The latest version uses electric actuators, which a much faster.

[900SL]

2 minutes ago, icpn said:

pity Musk was not on it

I think it's fake news that Musk has become this Iron Man pastiche and is some sort of coke addled delusory megalomaniac

 

😄

[saac]

The 20 outer rings as mentioned by @DaveS are fixed, gimble hydraulics for these were apparently removed to save weight. The remaining engines appear to be gimbled. 

Jim 

Edited April 21, 2023 by saac