Re:SpaceX rocket engine explodes during test at Texas facility
by arielb1 on Wednesday November 08, 2017 @03:03PM
(#15656416)
Engine failed during qualification testing, not acceptance testing - so it's a new design.
If you don't occasionally blow an engine up on the stand you are either not testing hard enough or not pushing the limits hard enough.
Re:SpaceX rocket engine explodes during test at Texas facility
by Robotbeat on Wednesday November 08, 2017 @04:53PM
(#15657470)
What's interesting is that updated info indicates it happened before the engine (which was a block 5 engine, as you say) was ignited, when they do a "LOx drop" test, basically running liquid oxygen through it to test for any leaks:
https://arstechnica.com/science/2017/11/an-experimental-spac...
It may mean they had a simple FOD (foreign object debris) or contamination issue, not a design problem. Powerful oxidizers like liquid oxygen can make contact explosives out of all kinds of organic materials.
Re:SpaceX rocket engine explodes during test at Texas facility
by stcredzero on Wednesday November 08, 2017 @05:15PM
(#15657651)
Stuff that you normally don't think of as flammable -- like hunks of structural metal -- burn quite nicely in the presence of liquid oxygen. So stuff that burns well, burns REALLY WELL in the presence of LOX.
Re:SpaceX rocket engine explodes during test at Texas facility
by sunstone on Wednesday November 08, 2017 @03:33PM
(#15656678)
Oh of course. Test to failure, why didn't that occur to me with respect rocket engines? Thanks for the insight.
Re:SpaceX rocket engine explodes during test at Texas facility
by sliverstorm on Wednesday November 08, 2017 @04:26PM
(#15657225)
Move fast and blow shit up (literally)?
They do acceptance testing of all their engines, even the current iterations. They've launched literally hundreds of these engines, with multiple tests per engine (and, as an aside, a design for Falcon 9 that is able to survive an engine failure).
They test multiple engines per week, and have the capacity for multiple times that, so losing a test cell for a few weeks need have no impact on the schedule for Block 5.
My take is that this will have essentially no impact on SpaceX's schedule.