SpaceX rocket explosion. What is Musk’s ‘successful failure’ business formula?

Space X, declared from the start, that this attempt would be a success if it simply lifted off. This was expected to be a learning exercise, and was expected to be trashed with a belly flop in the ocean. That’s why the people were all celebrating. Because it achieved more than they hoped. SpaceX rocket explosion

Some of the users are saying that “The bacteria were sent from one laboratory without being properly killed off, and could have infected dozens of people along the way. So far, no one has fallen ill, but Dr. Frieden called the episode a “tipping point” that has forced the agency to realize that safety procedures must be improved. ‘ – New York Times 2014. SpaceX rocket explosion

This is almost like saying that Elon Musk expects the test flight NOT to go 100% as planned. That EM is okay with NOT having all the bugs fixed on the ground. And he is okay with leaving substantial learning to after blowing a huge chunk of the budget in front of the whole world.

Why it got explodes?

It exploded because its FTS (Flight Termination System) was triggered, after it started tumbling. Of course it was a success. Go back to see how many Falcon rockets exploded, and now they are the most reliable launch system in the world. SpaceX rocket explosion

This is what it takes to develop a rocket system the Spacex way. Very fast in comparison to other rocket developers. Falcon is also the cheapest launch system in the world at this time. Lowest cost, highest reliability. Your comments illustrate your level of low understanding of rocket development.

Now people really don’t understand how SpaceX works. What you have described is EXACTLY the philosophy of rapid design and iteration. You do realize this is booster #7 right? 1-6 never even flew. He built them then destroyed them because by the time 1 was built the designs had changed and it was obsolete.

This rocket was obsolete. Booster 8 and 9 are already built, and have hundreds of design improvements. Instead of throwing this booster in the trash, he decided to fly it to get some real world, in flight data, to help with future designs. SpaceX’s design, build, test, redesign, build, test again approach is the fastest way to get the best final product.

What many miss is that this was a mission to gather data?

Many miss is that this was a mission to gather data. All of the engines were not the same exact version. They were gathering data on all of them to determine what flavors worked and which ones didn’t. Something else many may not be aware of is the process of stage separation includes an intentional spin to peel the 1st stage away from the 2nd stage.

This is similar to the spin induced in the second stage of the Falcon to assist the deployment of Starlink satellites. Unfortunately, that failed for whatever reason, but be assured, they captured data on that too. Unfortunately, the mission to test stage 2 in the upper atmosphere at high speeds and high temperatures failed to produce the data concerning the heat tile performance and ship behavior in those conditions. It was all a major success like all of their previous destructive tests.

Was it stepping stones for the following missions?

Each one provides stepping stones for the following missions. The Falcon 1 and Falcon 9 early missions may have failed, but they led to the current success of the present Falcon 9. Still the only rocket with a fully reusable 1st stage that can land back on a land base or out at sea on a floating barge. SpaceX will get this figured out and will change how space exploration proceeds from this point going forward. I cut my teeth on the early Mercury program missions and watch in awe at what the SpaceX team has already accomplished. God speed SpaceX, Elon, Gwen, and all the suppliers supporting this effort.

Jonathan give context and balance to what SpaceX & Musk are doing, and explain the fly/fail/fly approach so well. It’s especially useful that he pointed out the next rocket is nearly ready to fly. SpaceX did gamble big on the launch pad though. Only 1 of those.

Wanted to get this 1 flight done before installing the deluge system, and must have hoped for minimal damage. No such luck – and the debris from liftoff is what doomed the rocket. Damaging several engines and even more crucially knocking out the hydraulic systems – that led to the rocket losing more and more control and eventually tumbling. If the launch pad had survived better the next rocket could’ve launched in <2 months, after installation of the deluge. But launch pad facilities sustained A LOT of various kinds of damage, unfortunately. That’s why Elon tweeted it’ll be several months before the next flight.

Related

This iPad Mini-sized Samsung tablet is down to $129 at Walmart