BREAKING - Falcon 9 Explodes on Pad

[r9etb]

A loud explosion has been reported at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station

According to reports, the Falcon 9 rocket exploded on 40.

So far, no word if there are any injuries.

http://www.mynews13.com/content/news/cfnews13/news/article.html/content/news/articles/cfn/2016/9/1/explosion_reported_a.html#.V8gvpL8B0QY.facebook

[Crazieman]

Was this their first re-use attempt?  Haven't kept up, just know it hasn't been done yet.

[thackney]

NASA says SpaceX was conducting a test firing of its unmanned rocket when the blast occurred Thursday morning. The test, considered routine, was in advance of a planned Saturday launch from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station.

Buildings several miles away shook from the blast, and multiple explosions continued for several minutes. A cloud of dark smoke filled the overcast sky.

Additional details were not immediately available. But sirens could be heard in the aftermath.

The rocket was supposed to hoist an Israeli satellite this weekend.

http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2016/sep/1/nasa-explosion-rocks-spacex-launch-site-in-florida/

[r9etb]

Was this their first re-use attempt?  Haven't kept up, just know it hasn't been done yet.

No idea.  I hope nobody was hurt.

Apparently about 5 minutes before a planned engine test.  Timing seems consistent with pressurizing the system.

Typical SpaceX, unfortunately.

[r9etb]

Was this their first re-use attempt?  Haven't kept up, just know it hasn't been done yet.

Apparently this was their first re-use attempt.

And, possibly, their last....

CORRECTION: was NOT their re-use attempt.

[Cripplecreek]

What unmanned testing is for.

[Crazieman]

Apparently this was their first re-use attempt.

And, possibly, their last....

Hope not the last.  Didn't give up on the first crashes.

Pushing costs down is still admirable.  Just don't skimp on the safety.

[TomSea]

ROCKET BLAST Huge Explosion at Cape Canaveral space centre during test firing of SpaceX rocket

Eyewitness reports are pouring in of the explosion of a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket in Cape Canaveral

NASA says SpaceX was conducting a test firing of its unmanned rocket when the blast occurred Thursday morning.

The test, considered routine, was in advance of a planned Saturday launch from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station.

Buildings several miles away shook from the blast, and multiple explosions continued for several minutes. A cloud of dark smoke filled the overcast sky.

Additional details were not immediately available. But sirens could be heard in the aftermath.

Read More and Pictures At: https://www.thesun.co.uk/news/1710969/explosions-heard-at-cape-canaveral-space-centre-during-test-firing-of-spacex-rocket/

[r9etb]

Hope not the last.  Didn't give up on the first crashes.

Pushing costs down is still admirable.  Just don't skimp on the safety.

SpaceX cuts costs by cutting QA.   That's why they've blown up TWO rockets this year.

[Cripplecreek]

SpaceX cuts costs by cutting QA.   That's why they've blown up TWO rockets this year.

I've read that they a very high engineer turnover rate.

[thackney]

Was this their first re-use attempt?  Haven't kept up, just know it hasn't been done yet.

Correct.

SpaceX to launch SES-10 on previously flown Falcon 9 this year
http://spacenews.com/spacex-to-launch-ses-10-satellite-on-reused-falcon-9-by-years-end/
August 30, 2016

Satellite fleet operator SES on Aug. 30 said its 5,000-kilogram SES-10  telecommunications satellite would be the first customer to launch on a reused SpaceX Falcon 9 first stage, with the launch to occur late this year.

The decision, which was expected given Luxembourg-based SES’s past support for SpaceX and its belief that reusability can lower launch costs, is the latest validation that the commercial market — satellite operators and insurance underwriters included – is ready to make the leap to reusability....

[r9etb]

I've read that they a very high engineer turnover rate.

Their policy is to hire young engineers and work them 60+ hours/week; and there are some older engineers but not many.

I've heard (don't know if it's true) that they didn't want their people to be "polluted" by old ways of thinking.

[ABX]

SpaceX cuts costs by cutting QA.   That's why they've blown up TWO rockets this year.

It is an inherently risky science even with technology advances. NASA has the advantage of decades of trial and error but even then, they still lose some on the pad.

[Cripplecreek]

Their policy is to hire young engineers and work them 60+ hours/week; and there are some older engineers but not many.

I've heard (don't know if it's true) that they didn't want their people to be "polluted" by old ways of thinking.

If it were me, I would ease up on the workload a bit and temper the youth with some experience.

[Crazieman]

It is an inherently risky science even with technology advances. NASA has the advantage of decades of trial and error but even then, they still lose some on the pad.

Lost that big one in 2014, was a spectacular explosion.

[r9etb]

It is an inherently risky science even with technology advances. NASA has the advantage of decades of trial and error but even then, they still lose some on the pad.

Sorry, but that's just a ridiculous excuse, and it's not even true.

This is the second rocket that SpaceX has blown up this year.  The first one (actually, in June 2015) would have been caught by a decent QA process, and I'm betting that this one would, too.

And just take a moment to wonder why SpaceX hasn't taken advantage of all that "trial and error" (which it hasn't been for 40 years!!!).  Well, it's because they think they don't need all the knowledge that NASA, ULA, and other launch providers have accumulated over decades of rocket launches.

SpaceX apparently believes that all of the levels of QA and stuff that the other guys do, just adds cost without adding any benefit.

They're a half-assed organization, and unless they get over this "we're smarter than the other guys" mentality they're going to be in trouble.

[Crazieman]

Sorry, but that's just a ridiculous excuse, and it's not even true.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=n9ythm-Rjy4

Lets be truthful here.

SpaceX may be half-assing it, but they have made progress and I hope they continue to do so.

[r9etb]

Lets be truthful here.

SpaceX may be half-assing it, but they have made progress and I hope they continue to do so.

Progress? 

Last October, ULA conducted their 100th consecutive successful launch, and they've had several more since then.

When SpaceX can match that sort of reliability, then maybe we can talk.

[Cyber Liberty]

Their policy is to hire young engineers and work them 60+ hours/week; and there are some older engineers but not many.

I've heard (don't know if it's true) that they didn't want their people to be "polluted" by old ways of thinking.

Saves money by getting cheaper engineers.  I'm surprised they haven't farmed out the R&D to China.  This more than makes up for the money lost to rockets that blow up on the pad, BTW.

They're going to have to up their game a bit if they want to start launching Spam in a Can.

[r9etb]

They're going to have to up their game a bit if they want to start launching Spam in a Can.

Well, yeah.... I'd imagine that NASA will impose rather a lot of process and safety requirements on them....

I have to confess a bias here, by the way -- I've worked closely with ULA on over a dozen launches, and I know that they're consummate professionals.  They have a rigorous inspection regime that found a few issues that could have been serious, had they not caught them months before launch.

It just so happens that the worst thing that can happen to a satellite, is also the worst thing that can happen to the rocket guys.  Or, it should be.

Waiting for Elon's now-canned, "Space is Hard" speech...

[Cripplecreek]

Well, yeah.... I'd imagine that NASA will impose rather a lot of process and safety requirements on them....

I have to confess a bias here, by the way -- I've worked closely with ULA on over a dozen launches, and I know that they're consummate professionals.  They have a rigorous inspection regime that found a few issues that could have been serious, had they not caught them months before launch.

It just so happens that the worst thing that can happen to a satellite, is also the worst thing that can happen to the rocket guys.  Or, it should be.

Waiting for Elon's now-canned, "Space is Hard" speech...

I think Space X would be a lot better off if Elon Musk wrote more checks and made less decisions.

[Cyber Liberty]

Well, yeah.... I'd imagine that NASA will impose rather a lot of process and safety requirements on them....

I have to confess a bias here, by the way -- I've worked closely with ULA on over a dozen launches, and I know that they're consummate professionals.  They have a rigorous inspection regime that found a few issues that could have been serious, had they not caught them months before launch.

It just so happens that the worst thing that can happen to a satellite, is also the worst thing that can happen to the rocket guys.  Or, it should be.

Waiting for Elon's now-canned, "Space is Hard" speech...

I have a bias too...against cheap-ass engineers.  Not just in Aeronautics.

[ABX]

[kevindavis007]

Just a minor setback, Space Travel is still risky, but I think SpaceX better be careful.

[Oceander]

Well, they managed to make the front page of the WSJ, albeit below the fold.