Updates Blue Origin announces the New Glenn Orbital Launch Vehicle
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GLS
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Well, New Glenn exploded on the pad tonight during the planned hot fire test. After an aborted attempt 2 hours earlier, the 7 BE-4 engines of the first stage (GS-1) ignited at 9 pm EDT (0100 UTC May 29) which was followed by the vehicle exploding, seeming taking its Transporter/Erector with it.
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Thunder Chicken
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It looks like the second stage exploded at nearly the same time, not simply toppling over after the first stage failure. Whatever failed in the first stage was uncontained and took out the second stage too. Yikes.
Is FTS enabled on these static fires? It sure does look like both stages exploded at the same time.
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steph
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looks like Elon's got some competition 
GLS
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Wow! That is a proper Cape Canaveral 1960s explosion! 
I was thinking not that long ago that they needed a 2º pad ASAP, because if something like this happens (or even if just a 2º stage test goes kaput), then it would be many, many, many months to get back into shape.
Anyway, if it wasn't before, it is now very likely that we'll see chinese astronauts on the Moon before americans.
I was thinking not that long ago that they needed a 2º pad ASAP, because if something like this happens (or even if just a 2º stage test goes kaput), then it would be many, many, many months to get back into shape.
Anyway, if it wasn't before, it is now very likely that we'll see chinese astronauts on the Moon before americans.
2º stage was coming down already when it went, so maybe the umbilicals ripped off and that caused it to go.
Looks like there was nothing on top of the vehicle, so the sats weren't lost. They can put them in a Vulcan, and loose them when the solids go kaput.
GLS
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GLS
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Let the conspiracies begin
Fabri91
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Is this the most powerful non-nuclear explosion of which there's a video recording?
GLS
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Video? Yes.
Overall? The N1 probably still has that record, but it was on film. (Yes, I'm nitpicking
)But then, this one had hydrogen, which makes the explosion hotter...
Sunrise is about 2 hours away, so that is when we'll see the full state of the pad.
IIRC the Beirut explosion was bigger
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This is my video of the explosion of the Blue Origin New Glenn rocket at Cape Canaveral’s pad LC-36 a short time ago. Includes video & audio from roughly 5 miles away near Jetty Park. That was an absolutely enormous explosion!
Note: Thankfully, Blue says all staff are OK. pic.twitter.com/YePg5OmXd8
GLS
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We knew the lighting tower was gone, but now we see that the access tower has big damage...
dennis.krenz
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Could still become the biggest non-nuclear explosion on video tape. The lower estimate of the explosive yield of Beirut is merely on the level of the (also video taped) PEPCON disaster.
Of course, the Scott Manley estimate could be way too high as well.
Of course, the Scott Manley estimate could be way too high as well.
GLS
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The center of the explosion, 2 years ago tomorrow
GLS
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Looking at that video and the post-incident photos, it looks like the "ceiling" of the flame tunnel is no longer where it was, so the "fixed base" for the rocket is also history. It probably will be 2028 before this is working again...
What a fu***p... even without failures, a single pad being used both for launches and 2º stage test firings is a huge flight-rate bottleneck: each launch means 2 trips to the pad. A 2º barge is also something for yesterday, because without one the economics of the system don't work anymore. They had almost a year of downtime after the first flight, and could/should have made progress on these items.
early indications are that the anomaly leading to Thursday night’s failure originated in the central engine of the booster
Kinda irrelevant at this point, as it doesn't have a launch pad any more.
A slightly different angle of Black Origin
It is visible that the doors on this side of the integration building blew out, so the other side probably isn't in great shape.
What a fu***p... even without failures, a single pad being used both for launches and 2º stage test firings is a huge flight-rate bottleneck: each launch means 2 trips to the pad. A 2º barge is also something for yesterday, because without one the economics of the system don't work anymore. They had almost a year of downtime after the first flight, and could/should have made progress on these items.
early indications are that the anomaly leading to Thursday night’s failure originated in the central engine of the booster
Kinda irrelevant at this point, as it doesn't have a launch pad any more.
A slightly different angle of Black Origin
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