Posted on 10/11/2016 8:07:58 AM PDT by Ray76
Three weeks ago, SpaceX experienced an anomaly at our Launch Complex 40 (LC-40) at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station. This resulted in the loss of one of our Falcon 9 rockets and its payload.
The Accident Investigation Team (AIT), composed of SpaceX, the FAA, NASA, the U.S. Air Force, and industry experts, are currently scouring through approximately 3,000 channels of engineering data along with video, audio and imagery. The timeline of the event is extremely short – from first signs of an anomaly to loss of data is about 93 milliseconds or less than 1/10th of a second. The majority of debris from the incident has been recovered, photographed, labeled and catalogued, and is now in a hangar for inspection and use during the investigation.
At this stage of the investigation, preliminary review of the data and debris suggests that a large breach in the cryogenic helium system of the second stage liquid oxygen tank took place. [Updated 09/24: At this time, the cause of the potential breach remains unknown.] All plausible causes are being tracked in an extensive fault tree and carefully investigated. Through the fault tree and data review process, we have exonerated any connection with last year’s CRS-7 mishap.
(Excerpt) Read more at spacex.com ...
Ok, is this a mis print? Should it be hydrogen not helium? Why would a rocket need a tank of helium?
Well helium balloons float, right? /s
Can be used as pressurant.
Everybody thinks it’s the rockets that lift them but
it’s really the secret tanks of Helium...
No. From the article, “ ... large breach in the cryogenic helium system of the second stage liquid oxygen tank took place.”
Helium is used to pressurize the liquid oxygen (LOX) tanks. If the helium tank fail, it may have damaged the LOX tank, or allowed LOX to leak out through the helium lines.
Thank you. So the helium is used to deliver the oxygen. That makes sense.
(Very BIG /SARC tag)
So what are they gonna do when they find the piece of that helium tank with the .50 cal hole?
You or I have anomalies. SpaceX just blowed up.
Helium is used to pressurize the Oxygen tank. It needs some pressure inside the LOX tank to force it into the inlet of the Turbo pump. Helium is used because a combustible gas such as Hydrogen would explode if mixed with Oxygen under pressure and shock waves.
From that drone that flew by?
This is what a lot of people are thinking.
Will we see drone nets strung between the lightning towers? It is only a matter of the me before someone, either maliciously or more likely stupidly, thinks it cool to capture video from up above. We’ve already seen several drones flying around the local fireworks display on the 4th.
“...large breach in the cryogenic helium system of the second stage liquid oxygen tank took place. “
Huh??
Possibly. RC planes are hardly new, but lately they have become very popular. The risk is real.
Alien spacecraft fired at the rocket.
Army says alarm real...... : )
http://www.rense.com/army.jpg
Tangential question: What’s with the X in SpaceX?
What’s with the X in so many things? SpaceX Generation X, Malcolm X, X Men, Rated X, X-Files, etc.
Is it innocuous or is it because of the use of X in the occult or esoteric world?
First it started to blow up, then it blew up.
X has always been used to suggest an unknown. It is also used to denote “experimental” such as the X-15.
I think the Gen X group was named because it followed the alphabet from Gen A—the group that founded America.
Malcom used X because it was a replacement for his “slave” name. With X reflecting the traditional marker for a signature or as a placeholder.
There is nothing nefarious about it. Other than its getting cliche.
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