SpaceX Tuesday...
Discussion
It's a calculated risk I guess. The more substantial pad equipment, like the O2 & fuel tanks are protected behind blast walls and earth berms.
However this pad (SLC-40) was the one wrecked back in 2016 when a Falcon 9 exploded during a test fire. I was closed for 15 months as a result.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_BgJEXQkjNQ
Damage was caused to the concrete of the pad itself as well as electrical, communications and fuel lines. Some of the support sheds were damaged or destroyed by the blasts & fires. The lightning towers & the assembly building down the ramp were only lightly damaged. The transporter erector tower was a twisted mess.
They could have reduced the repair time, but they chose to use the construction crews on putting nearby Pad 39a into operation early while the investigation went on. Once that was up and running they concentrated on rebuilding & upgrading SLC-40's ground support equipment.
However this pad (SLC-40) was the one wrecked back in 2016 when a Falcon 9 exploded during a test fire. I was closed for 15 months as a result.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_BgJEXQkjNQ
Damage was caused to the concrete of the pad itself as well as electrical, communications and fuel lines. Some of the support sheds were damaged or destroyed by the blasts & fires. The lightning towers & the assembly building down the ramp were only lightly damaged. The transporter erector tower was a twisted mess.
They could have reduced the repair time, but they chose to use the construction crews on putting nearby Pad 39a into operation early while the investigation went on. Once that was up and running they concentrated on rebuilding & upgrading SLC-40's ground support equipment.
Kccv23highliftcam said:
ones from last nights launch footage Eric
I'm still not sure which items you refer to. Launch pads often have large and heavy items right next door to the rocket. The most obvious is the launch tower which provides access to the rocket during launch preparations and of course, carries propellant lines and electrical and data connections right up until the last few moments prior to launch. Some of these connections are only broken at the moment of lift off.On Pad 40 (used the other night) as well as the launch support structures, there are also four large towers which carry lightning conductors. If you look carefully, you will see that they are connected by wires. This form a kind of Faraday Cage around the rocket when it's on the pad and should stop it from being struck by lightning whilst it's sitting there.
Here's a picture of Pad 40 showing the general layout -
As far as large structures next to launching rockets, you can't get much bigger than this -
Beati Dogu said:
There's a lot of camera foreshortening here.
It's over 500 feet between the rocket and the assembly building down the ramp behind it. That's more than twice the height of the rocket (230 ft)
The building to the right is actually 250 ft away.
"exactly" how much fuel and oxidiser are sitting on top of each other there?It's over 500 feet between the rocket and the assembly building down the ramp behind it. That's more than twice the height of the rocket (230 ft)
The building to the right is actually 250 ft away.
Looks a bit goofy:
Seems to have sprouted 3 tail fins big enough to double as landing struts.
https://www.spacex.com/sites/spacex/files/bfr1_moo...
Seems to have sprouted 3 tail fins big enough to double as landing struts.
https://www.spacex.com/sites/spacex/files/bfr1_moo...
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