Quote from: FutureSpaceTourist on 09/01/2016 02:49 pmSome idea of the force of the explosion:QuoteBen Brockert @wikkit 15m15 minutes ago~10 pieces of debris from the Falcon 9 found in the parking lot of KSC Pad A, "would fit in a shoebox". Lot is 1.8 miles from the F9 pad.https://twitter.com/wikkit/status/771355370719744000How far from Boca Chica NSF central headquarters (a.k.a. Nomadd's place) to the pad?
Some idea of the force of the explosion:QuoteBen Brockert @wikkit 15m15 minutes ago~10 pieces of debris from the Falcon 9 found in the parking lot of KSC Pad A, "would fit in a shoebox". Lot is 1.8 miles from the F9 pad.https://twitter.com/wikkit/status/771355370719744000
Ben Brockert @wikkit 15m15 minutes ago~10 pieces of debris from the Falcon 9 found in the parking lot of KSC Pad A, "would fit in a shoebox". Lot is 1.8 miles from the F9 pad.
We don't yet know what the debris was, only that it was smaller than a shoebox. If it was foil or other light material, no panic would be necessary.I don't see the Canaveral folks getting concerned about relocating the 39a facilities further from 40, for instance.
There's no way that foil or any other low-ballistic-coefficient material makes it that far from the explosion -- only if it gets carried by airborne currents. This would have been a hefty chunk of material.
Quote from: cscott on 09/01/2016 03:53 pmWe don't yet know what the debris was, only that it was smaller than a shoebox. If it was foil or other light material, no panic would be necessary.I don't see the Canaveral folks getting concerned about relocating the 39a facilities further from 40, for instance.There's no way that foil or any other low-ballistic-coefficient material makes it that far from the explosion -- only if it gets carried by airborne currents. This would have been a hefty chunk of material.There's a bit of difference between buying up private property and relocating a fifty-year-old launch pad.
Quote from: SWGlassPit on 09/01/2016 04:15 pmQuote from: cscott on 09/01/2016 03:53 pmWe don't yet know what the debris was, only that it was smaller than a shoebox. If it was foil or other light material, no panic would be necessary.I don't see the Canaveral folks getting concerned about relocating the 39a facilities further from 40, for instance.There's no way that foil or any other low-ballistic-coefficient material makes it that far from the explosion -- only if it gets carried by airborne currents. This would have been a hefty chunk of material.There's a bit of difference between buying up private property and relocating a fifty-year-old launch pad. Yeah. The people relocating the launch pad wouldn't have to deal with a crazy old coot who just spent ten months fixing the place up. If they're going to take the place, they'll have their chance in the next few months. I'm leaving in a week to roam around South America till the end of November.
Yeah. The people relocating the launch pad wouldn't have to deal with a crazy old coot who just spent ten months fixing the place up. If they're going to take the place, they'll have their chance in the next few months. I'm leaving in a week to roam around South America till the end of November.
As a public relations exercise SpaceX will probably need to publish a map showing the blast and debris area of Amos-6 imposed on the Texas launch site. This will explain why SpaceX had to buy so much land and the viewing stands are so far away. A smaller area would have been much cheaper.
BROWNSVILLE – The explosion of a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket in Florida is sparking concerns for many people in the Rio Grande Valley...Alexander Limon and his family are still in awe of what they saw happen.“I thought that was crazy. We don’t need that here, that big ole’ explosion, it’s just going to mess up everything,” he said.The Limon family lives about 10 miles from the launch site. They fish regularly at Boca Chica Beach and they don’t want that family tradition to be jeopardized.“The tourism would be good for the community,” Limon said. “But why mess up such a beautiful thing?”Cameron County Emergency Manager Tom Hushen said incidents can’t be ruled out, but they are working closely with SpaceX to stay ahead of the game.“Things are going to be in place beforehand. There will be fire departments standing by, roads will be blocked, it’s not going to just happen overnight, where they decide okay we’re going to blast off a rocket,” Hushen said. “This is preparation, this is timed, (and) we move people around making sure that no one is in harm’s way during the actual event.”He added the public won’t be allowed anywhere near the launch pad.“There is going to be launching facilities to be able to see out on South Padre Island. But Cameron County and SpaceX will work hand and hand to make sure the residents in the area are safe,” Hushen said.The information gives Limon some comfort, but he said not as much as simply not having the risk at all.A SpaceX spokesman said all their focus is on the incident in Cape Canaveral but said there is a detailed plan in place. Hushen added launches are still about two years away from happening, so there is time to adjust emergency plans as needed.
Once again I more strongly than ever believe that Sx's next generation of really Big rockets after FH will launch from pads at sea anchored in shallow water. This latest anomaly is making everyone re-assess the safety margins from a pad or near pad RUD.Also, don't underestimate the residential whining from sonic booms as a really BIG spacecraft does a RTLS. Here I'm not sure that even many miles away at sea attenuates the audio avalanche of boomlets enough.
I doubt if sonic booms are going to bother someone who just went through a rocket launch.
On the contrary, it seems that the lc40 incident is showing that the existing keepaways are sufficient and complete detonation of the stack (as opposed to deflagration) is unlikely. The debris on LC39a appeared insignificant. We'll see, but I doubt the HIF will be moving further back at LC40. By all accounts all the safety measures worked. No injuries occurred.