Re:A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket has exploded at Cape Canaveral
by mikeash on Friday September 02, 2016 @12:02AM
(#12410753)
Apollo 13 also came a few seconds away from blowing up during launch. The second stage center engine began a pogo oscillation that at its peak was vibrating the engine at 16Hz with an amplitude of about three inches. By luck, the intense vibration tripped a fuel sensor and caused the computer to shut the engine down just before it would have ripped the whole thing to pieces.
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Re:A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket has exploded at Cape Canaveral
by WalterBright on Friday September 02, 2016 @03:01AM
(#12411399)
As an engineer, I am utterly astounded that the Apollo launches were so successful. Nobody had bigger balls than the astronauts who got in them.