From the TEL and with such cold temps I wonder if a LOX ball valve fractured with enough force in the flow to break through just outside the vehicle? If there was a filter it could go through it as well...
During development the launch vehicle has many strain gauges mounted, but what about the ground equipment?
Quote from: Rocket Science on 09/09/2016 02:24 pmFrom the TEL and with such cold temps I wonder if a LOX ball valve fractured with enough force in the flow to break through just outside the vehicle? If there was a filter it could go through it as well...Pressure propagation down a pipe? Ever done the thing where you whack the top of a part full beer bottle and then laugh at the holder as it erupts into foam?
Just how big is that initial explosion? The initial bang seems to be some form of fuel-air(oxygen) explosion. Has anyone given a reasonable estimate of just HOW MUCH fuel would be needed to form a bang of that size?A few grams? A few kilograms? Hundreds?Assuming the initial explosion is from somehow-vented/sprayed/aerosolysed RP1, we could go a long way to eliminating likely causes if we have a better idea of the actual volume of fuel needed to create that explosion.I've tried to find info on this earlier in the thread, but my search-fu failed me.Thanx,Pete.
I think that sound before the explosion is a steel strut failing. Listen closely to the sounds in the video below and then listen again to the AMOS video (with headphones if possible). Both have that same distinctive ringing sound.
About this "sound through ground" discussion,sorry guys, but why should be audible only the initial bang,and not all the cacophony of the subsequent explosions?Doesn't convince at all...Thorsten
Anyone think that, if a root cause does not present itself, SpaceX will take another page out of the Silicon Valley playbook?"Attempt to replicate the bug?"
Quote from: rakaydos on 09/09/2016 05:53 pmAnyone think that, if a root cause does not present itself, SpaceX will take another page out of the Silicon Valley playbook?"Attempt to replicate the bug?"The problem is that there are a nearly infinite number of ways to make a rocket explode, and much of the hardware was completely destroyed. The T/E and much of the GSE will have to be rebuilt from scratch, and once you've done that if you fail to replicate the explosion, how do you know if the flaw was some hidden defect or failure in the now-destroyed GSE or some rare fault caused by a still-present design flaw?
Quote from: ellindsey on 09/09/2016 05:56 pmQuote from: rakaydos on 09/09/2016 05:53 pmAnyone think that, if a root cause does not present itself, SpaceX will take another page out of the Silicon Valley playbook?"Attempt to replicate the bug?"The problem is that there are a nearly infinite number of ways to make a rocket explode, and much of the hardware was completely destroyed. The T/E and much of the GSE will have to be rebuilt from scratch, and once you've done that if you fail to replicate the explosion, how do you know if the flaw was some hidden defect or failure in the now-destroyed GSE or some rare fault caused by a still-present design flaw?A problem I'm told many programmers are famiiar with.
Quote from: Jim on 09/08/2016 12:50 amHydrazine is not feasible. It would have gone off in the fairingNice to see your personal and professional experience jibes with my engineering intuition. So assuming an external fuel/air explosive event, any ideas how enough fuel could or would rise the 10' or so from the the apparently-unpressurized RP1 umbilicals? If RP1 loading was complete but the tank not yet at flight pressure, how does that happen? Could a check valve in the RP1 QD have failed, combined with a hole in the umbilical causing a vertical spray or mist up in the clouds of venting O2 gas? I just don't get the mechanism yet.
Hydrazine is not feasible. It would have gone off in the fairing