Chinese Booster Falls Back and Explodes

[Eric Mc]

The lifting bodies came with various shapes. The whole point of the programme was to find out which blunt shape gave the best compromise between heat protection and ability to glide. This turned out to be the best -

[Beati Dogu]

This Chinese farmer got a rocket engine through his bedroom roof:

https://gbtimes.com/rocket-engine-smashes-house-af...


Some other remarkably intact Chinese fairings:

https://gbtimes.com/space-debris-chinas-fengyun-4a...


Makes you wonder if it's wave action that breaks up the ones which ditch in the ocean.

SpaceX said a pair of Falcon 9 fairings costs $6 million, which is clearly a significant cost per launch. So no wonder they're working hard on ways to recover & reuse them

[mybrainhurts]

Eric Mc said:

I get the feeling that the locals have not been given any sort of instructions regarding what to do if they see a rocket falling out of the sky.

Seemed to enjoy it, though....

[Eric Mc]

Yep - fairly stoical all round.

[Toaster]

mybrainhurts said:

Eric Mc said:

I get the feeling that the locals have not been given any sort of instructions regarding what to do if they see a rocket falling out of the sky.

Seemed to enjoy it, though....

No different to the Americans watching a launch from cocoa beach

[Beati Dogu]

I imagine having the rocket aimed towards you adds an extra level of excitement.