[HN Gopher] SpaceX's Starship SN1 prototype blows up during pres...
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       SpaceX's Starship SN1 prototype blows up during pressure test on
       its Texas pad
        
       Author : eternalny1
       Score  : 19 points
       Date   : 2020-02-29 21:43 UTC (1 hours ago)
        
 (HTM) web link (www.geekwire.com)
 (TXT) w3m dump (www.geekwire.com)
        
       | bpodgursky wrote:
       | If the SLS blew up during testing, it would set the program back
       | a literal decade (or more).
       | 
       | If the James Webb telescope failed during deploy, it would be a
       | $10-$20 billion loss -- and it would never be re-attempted.
       | 
       | NASA needs to re-learn from SpaceX's ability to iterate on cheap
       | designs and flush out flaws quickly. I say re-learn, because they
       | DID know how to do this correctly during the Gemini / Apollo eras
       | (TONS of rockets blew up before they attempted human
       | spaceflight).
       | 
       | But culturally, something went deeply wrong, perhaps when we
       | reached the Space Shuttle era, and they lost the willingness to
       | ever accept failure or pushing limits -- the same process we tell
       | tell children is critical to ever learning.
        
       | gpm wrote:
       | The pressure vessel failed during testing with nitrogen, no
       | explosion occurred.
       | 
       | This probably isn't that much of a surprise, they knew the welds
       | were far from ideal and already had improvements on the way.
       | 
       | > We had the wrong settings! To make the welds super flat &
       | strong, we're building a heavy duty, custom planisher, but just
       | having the right settings is a major improvement.
       | 
       | https://twitter.com/elonmusk/status/1232556310874533888
       | 
       | The next version is already being assembled right beside where
       | this one failed.
        
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       (page generated 2020-02-29 23:00 UTC)