Explosion – Stop Elon From Failing Again

January 9, 2017 stopelon Elon's Empire, SpaceX

SpaceX is super-cooling its rocket fuel— why that could be a problem

For nearly a year, SpaceX has been trying out something new: super-cooling the liquid oxygen (LOX) which is a key ingredient in rocket fuel. It’s called deep-cryo LOX, and the idea has been around since NASA began designing rockets over 60 years ago. But no one has had the guts to actually fly rockets regularly with deep-cryo LOX.

We spoke with associate professor of aerospace engineering at Georgia Tech, Mitchell Walker, to understand why SpaceX chills its LOX cooler than anyone else and whether or not this is a good idea.

SpaceX customer switches a satellite launch order to European competitor

A SpaceX customer has switched to a European competitor for one satellite launch, citing delays in the Hawthorne space company’s schedule after a September explosion.

Satellite communications firm Inmarsat said Thursday that it has signed a contract with French rocket company Arianespace to launch a satellite for the European Aviation Network, a broadband system comprised of both satellites and ground networks.

That satellite is set to be launched in mid-2017 from French Guiana.

Inmarsat had originally planned to launch the satellite with SpaceX, but said it decided to switch to Arianespace “following the delay in SpaceX’s launch schedule.”

October 4, 2016October 4, 2016 stopelon SpaceX

Implication of sabotage adds intrigue to SpaceX investigation

Elon Musk, SpaceX’s founder and chief executive, has called the failure “the most difficult and complex” the company has ever had. About a week after the explosion, he pleaded with the public to turn in video or audio recordings of the blast and said that the company has not ruled out sabotage as a factor.

“Particularly trying to understand the quieter bang sound a few seconds before the fireball goes off,” he wrote on Twitter. “May come from rocket or something else.”

Since then, SpaceX, which is leading the investigation with help from the Air Force, NASA and the Federal Aviation Administration, said it is narrowing down on the cause of the explosion, focusing on a breach in a second-stage helium system.

At a conference in Mexico this week, Musk said that finding out what went wrong is the company’s “absolute top priority,” but he said what caused the explosion is still unknown.

“We’ve eliminated all of the obvious possibilities for what occurred there,” he said. “So what remains are the less probable answers.”

He didn’t say what those might be.

The Air Force’s 45th Space Wing, which is helping SpaceX with the investigation, declined to comment because the investigation is ongoing.

September 2, 2016 stopelon All, Elon's Empire, SpaceX

SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rocket explosion: news, updates, analysis

On Thursday, September 1st, one of SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rockets exploded on the launch pad at Cape Canaveral, Florida. The incident occurred as SpaceX was preparing the vehicle for an upcoming launch, which would have sent the Israeli communications satellite Amos 6 into orbit. To see if the Falcon 9 was ready for the mission, the rocket was about to undergo a static fire test — in which the main engines are turned on while the vehicle is constrained. But as propellant was being loaded into the Falcon 9 for the test, an explosion occurred around the upper portion of the rocket. Follow along here for the latest news about the accident as SpaceX tries to figure out what went wrong.