SpaceX’s CRS-7 Mission Ends In Catastrophic Failure, Loss Of Vehicle

techcrunch.com ^ | 6-28-2015 | Darrell Etherington

[Vaquero]

Here’s a video of the explosion of the unmanned Falcon 9 rocket and Dragon capsule:

Here

UPDATE: The SpaceX rocket seems to have broken apart entirely in what looks like a major mission failure. During the feed, the rocket start smoking and then appeared to come apart altogether about a minute or more into launch. The resupply mission was thankfully unmanned.

[SunkenCiv]

Thanks Vaquero. I was trying to get the alleged live stream to load, tried a few different pages, finally found a spam festival that purported to be the website of a Florida-based news org, had no vid, had a link (about two minutes after the failure) to a story -- but it wouldn't load.

[TangibleDisgust]

i sure hope muslims don’t feel any worse about themselves over this.

/sarc

[jospehm20]

Umm, kind of.
http://www.sci-tech-today.com/news/Musk-s-Empire-Fueled-by-Subsidies/story.xhtml?story_id=1010028C8UQD

[GOPJ]

...maybe a structural failure followed by an explosion

The explosion happen at the highest point of pressure on the rocket? Right?

[Rockitz]

They’ve been having problems with the GHe pressurization systems.

http://spaceflightnow.com/2015/03/21/spacex-swaps-order-of-next-two-falcon-9-launches/

[Kegger]

This one worked.

---

Tell that to Gus Grissom, Ed White and Roger Chaffee.

[cripplecreek]

Tell that to Gus Grissom, Ed White and Roger Chaffee.

Their deaths had zero to do with the rocket. I don't think the rocket they were sitting on top of was even fueled up since it wasn't intended to launch that day.

[Jeff F]

Elon tweeted this: “There was an overpressure event in the upper stage liquid oxygen tank. Data suggests counterintuitive cause.”

Looks like my early wild guess of a LOX tank rupture was about right. My other guess was that it was due to a failed relief valve but then that seems pretty intuitive so I may be all wet.

BTW - You have an absolutely great screen name for this thread!

[Jack Hydrazine]

Good call! Might be a gaseous helium pressurization tank problem.

[Jack Hydrazine]

Good find. That may be the source of the problem.

[Jack Hydrazine]

What is it with Falcon 9 Helium problems?
http://www.reddit.com/r/spacex/comments/268rse/what_is_it_with_falcon_9_helium_problems/

Why do pressure-fed systems have to be pressurized with helium or nitrogen?
http://space.stackexchange.com/questions/9311/why-do-pressure-fed-systems-have-to-be-pressurized-with-helium-or-nitrogen

[boop]

Really? So is Dave Thomas(of SCTV) as well.

[Jack Hydrazine]

SpaceX investigating Falcon 9 first stage helium leak
http://www.spaceflightnow.com/falcon9/010/140521helium/#.VZAxCflVhBd
21MAY2014

UPDATE: NO SPACEX FALCON 9 LAUNCHES UNTIL APRIL
18MAR2015
http://www.spaceflightinsider.com/organizations/space-exploration-technologies/reports-no-spacex-falcon-9-launches-until-april/

http://aviationweek.com/blog/spacexs-gwynne-shotwell-talks-raptor-falcon-9-crs-2-satellite-internet-and-more
Launch Slip for Turkmenistan
21MAR2015

Shotwell says an issue with helium tanks on the Falcon 9 v1.1 has prompted SpaceX to delay a March 21 commercial mission for the government of Turkmenistan. The company now hopes to launch Turkmensat-1 and an International Space Station (ISS) cargo resupply mission for NASA before April 17. “We were doing some component stress testing over the weekend and were a little uncomfortable with the helium bottle pressure onboard. It passed inspection, but now is not the time to have an issue in flight, so we’re going to go in and do some work on those bottles, so that will delay the flight.”

[daniel1212]

The launch was not nominal.

But in sodomite ideology nominal can mean normative, and the destructions of Space X illustrates in fast motion the progressive destruction of America when blind souls require governments sanction sodomy and punish those which will not.

The SOTUS decision was the second stage.

Perhaps Space X tried to employ politically correct rocket technology, by feeding fuel into the exhaust port. Which is about as logical and safe as homosexual relations which it corresponds to.

Yet we all have sinned to varying degrees, and there is room at the cross for all who will turn to Christ and believe and receive the risen Lord Jesus to save them by His sinless shed blood.

[Rockitz]

Bingo!

Sources said SpaceX is still analyzing data to determine the root cause of the leak, and institute corrective actions, out of concern the high-pressure helium tanks might leak or fail in flight.

From:

SpaceX investigating Falcon 9 first stage helium leak

http://www.spaceflightnow.com/falcon9/010/140521helium/#.VZAxCflVhBd 21MAY2014

[Jeff F]

Musk did say an overpressure event in the liquid oxygen tank but perhaps a failed helium tank could have cause a cascading failure with the LOX.

[Rockitz]

Most definitely....

[beelzepug]

I was standing right next to the teletype machine at Madigan Hospital, Ft. Lewis, WA when that news broke. I was practically startled out of my shoes when it started clanging. It was one of those “where were you when...?” moments I’ll always remember.

[markman46]

i believe the falcon 9 S1 is already at VAFB for that test.

[normbal]

Yeah, crony capitalism didn’t work out all that well then at first - it did get us to the moon and back - made many millionaires in the process too.