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Blue Origin Thread (merged)


Aethon

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There was an overpressure event in the upper stage liquid oxygen tank. Data suggests counterintuitive cause

(source: elon musk twitter)

Stuck pressure relief valve? Or something trying to crash through the tank from above? (looking at you, IDA)

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Wow, glad I wasn't the only one who had a bad feeling about this one.

I have family over this weekend, it was a lovely morning. We were all sitting on the porch until I brought everyone in to watch the launch in the living room. I thought it was stage sep at first, until the rocket stopped existing. My heart just dropped. We all just sat and stared at the screen for a few minutes.

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So there's something dented the tin can ? (well no blame fest but I hope it clears the RUD better than most of us in our saves). IMO as there's no possibility an LOX tank can overpressure without external feed (take to open air and you get boiloff instead), must be structural collapse.

Edited by YNM
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I am interested in

that also has the telemetry data onscreen. Notice how the velocity continues to increase throughout the event (although perhaps at a reduced rate) until the dragon shaped object appears to separate when it stays constant. Is this perhaps consistent with the telemetry coming from dragon and showing it coming away as the trunk / second stage disintegrates and the the first stage keeps on trucking?
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Counterintuitive... a stuck valve is what you might expect. What about cargo at X gs impinging on the tank, crushing it?
Cargo (IDA) breaks free, crushes LOX tank (is it at the top of the stack?). As tank crushes, overpressure, then rupture. RUD/FTS.

But the overpressure safety valve should still release the excess pressure.

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But the overpressure safety valve should still release the excess pressure.

When the cargo detaches and hits the tank at 4-5 gs, crushing it?

Actually, before the event you can see a streamer coming off the upper stage... maybe it is doing just that.

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But the overpressure safety valve should still release the excess pressure.

Would be more basis for an abort, less deltaV in any way.

how can the cargo OVER PRESSURIZE the tank enough to make it burst?

Beat a pressurized aerosol can very hard - don't blame me if it hurts you, by exploding.

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From what Elon Musk just tweeted, it looks like the second-stage LOX tank had an over- pressure event with a "counter-intuitive cause".

So much for my speculation. (Though, to be fair, if it was one of my KSP missions, that would have been the cause) :D

Sounds to me like the rocket accidentally vented too much LOX, lowering the pressure and causing the remaining LOX to evaporate too rapidly for the vents to keep up with. Upper stage blows in half, and 9 Merlin engines drive the Dragon right down through the remaining stack, disintegrating everything.

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So there's something dented the tin can ? (well no blame fest but I hope it clears the RUD better than most of us in our saves). IMO as there's no possibility an LOX tank can overpressure without external feed (take to open air and you get boiloff instead), must be structural collapse.

Failure of both the overpressure valve and failure of a cooling creating a boiloff thus liquid turning to gas that takes up more volume sounds could overpressure without an outside source.

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