SpaceX Booster 7 had an explosion during a test. There was some fire. The booster is still mostly intact.
It is being checked for damage assessment.
Live coverage continues on Starbase Live. Crews are returning to the pad to begin damage assessments. Today will be a setback in terms of schedule, but it could have been so much worse. Good job by the SpaceX teams getting everything back under control.https://t.co/9tCZafcbaB pic.twitter.com/EIXVaZN2I6
— Michael Baylor (@nextspaceflight) July 12, 2022
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What appears to have happened here is that they vented a lot of fuel, probably mixed with oxygen, out of the engines before engine ignition, and created what was in effect a fuel air bomb under the booster which detonated when the first engine ignited. Possibly they haven’t seen this before on account of not having such a large array of engines venting previously. Scale matters in terms of creating a fuel air bomb like that.
It’s probably not feasible for them to guarantee that the venting doesn’t happen, but they could prevent the explosion by making sure of a very prompt ignition, perhaps by providing a secondary ignition source at the end of the engine bell. That would prevent the accumulation that drove this explosion.
Curtain around the milkstool….nitrogen cascade deluge inside …plastic running to vacuum filled hyperloop tunnels…some blow off panels perhaps.
I guess that takes care of launch stress testing the tower & stand
We’ve come a long way from the time of SN4. If I recall correctly, there wasn’t much left of either the prototype or the test stand after that accident.
Still, Elon has been quoted saying that if you’re not failing, you’re not innovating enough. Well, this is certainly a failure. Let’s hope that SpaceX learns from it.