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A comment on SpaceX giant rocket explodes minutes after launch from Texas. Parent comment

Re:SpaceX giant rocket explodes minutes after launch from Texas by JumpCrisscross on Thursday April 20, 2023 @05:02PM (#35646281)
> everybody realizes by now that the big hole where the pad used to be is a bigger problem that it seemed initially

I'm seeing a lot of speculation and little engineering on this. Is there a good post hoc take on why it's a big problem?

Counterfactuals: it wasn't a production pad. It was designed to be expendable. That's why you don't put a bunch of expensive kit like deluge equipment on and around it; there's a meaningful chance you never clear the tower.

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Re:SpaceX giant rocket explodes minutes after launch from Texas by baq on Thursday April 20, 2023 @05:24PM (#35646565)
The problem isn’t that it didn’t survive, the problem is the style it went out with: how much of it didn’t survive, how far the rocks were flung (far!), how far dust settled (very far!) and the amount of engineering needed to build a flame diverter which can be called any sort of reusable. Also the amount of fresh water needed for the deluge will be simply epic.
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