SpaceX Crew Dragon Capsule may have been Destroyed during testing

a reply to: Soylent Green Is People

I love space flight some days. "There was an anomaly", "could delay"....

Oddly, as of right now there has been no word from SpaceX publicly (no press release and nothing on their website) about this mishap and how it might impact their schedule for a manned Dragon flight, and not much from NASA aside from a three-sentence statement acknowledging something happened. At least NASA is telling us something, which is more than what SpaceX is publicly telling us.

NASA statement:
NASA Administrator Statement on SpaceX Static Fire Test


NASA also said that SpaceX's unmanned resupply mission to the space station slated for next week would still go on as scheduled, but no word on the manned flight.

ISS resupply mission on schedule after SpaceX Crew Dragon mishap


I assume NASA is waiting on SpaceX to regroup after the explosion and release SpaceX's own statement on potential schedule slippages before NASA says anything more detailed about the manned test flight. I understand that SpaceX cannot know the impact that this will have on the Dragon 2 manned test flight without first knowing what happened, but I'd like to think that they (via a press release or their website, or even Twitter) at least acknowledge that something did happen.

a reply to: Soylent Green Is People

I read a statement from spacex yesterday that said it was the recovered capsule and the "explosion" occurred on the second set of rocket tests they did.

That capsule was set to be used in another test for its abort ability.

originally posted by: Grimpachi
a reply to: Soylent Green Is People

I read a statement from spacex yesterday that said it was the recovered capsule and the "explosion" occurred on the second set of rocket tests they did.
That capsule was set to be used in another test for its abort ability.

The loss of the actual equipment that they want to use for testing might be one thing, but I figure the larger and more pressing question would be "why did it blow up?"

That question needs to be answered fully before they send humans in a similar vehicle.

I realize this was the same capsule that went up earlier this year in the unmanned test of the crew vehicle. Therfore, the SuperDraco engine that failed might have been damaged during that flight, reentry, splashdown, or recovery -- and maybe a brand-new (non-reused) version would be fine.

However, I think they need to verify that first...i.e., verify it didn't fail due to a design flaw that could cause the failure to happen again rather than it failing due to damage from its past flight.

a reply to: Soylent Green Is People

I am sure they are very focused on finding out exactly what went wrong and fixing it.

originally posted by: Grimpachi
a reply to: Soylent Green Is People

I am sure they are very focused on finding out exactly what went wrong and fixing it.

Surely. I just think it’s likely (IMO) that their schedule for the first manned flight will slip because finding a root cause might take a little while.

UPDATE ON SPACEX DRAGON 2 TEST ANOMALY:

The update is that there is no update.

SpaceX has yet to say anything publicly about the incident during which there was an explosion while test-firing the abort engines and the maneuvering thrusters on the Dragon 2 crew-ready capsule that returned from space earlier this year.

The only public word we got so far was from NASA the day after it happened. That public message was short, and amounted to NASA telling us that SpaceX told them that there was an "Anomaly". Reportedly, SpaceX also put out a short press release directly to news outlets mentioning simply that the was a test anomaly.

However, there has been absolutely nothing on SpaceX's website or their twitter even acknowledging to the public that something happened. This incident could (and I think the chances are that it will) impact the schedule for the first manned flight of the Dragon 2, thus potentially impacting the ability for the United States to have a way to send astronauts into space that does not involve buying seats on Russian spacecraft.

Considering this, I think U.S. taxpayers -- who will be paying for SpaceX's rides, and who might instead need to pay the Russians for the "taxi" service longer than once told -- have a right to be told at least a little about what happened during that failed test and how it impacts NASA's plans to no longer be reliant on the Russians for astronaut transportation services.

I think SpaceX should at least put out a detailed press release confirming the amount of damage to the vehicle, and what they are doing now to find the problem and ensure that the problem is not a design flaw in all Dragon capsules, and fix that problem it is. I'm not expecting that they know the answers yet, but at least acknowledge to the public that there are questions.

Here is an editorial from the Orlando Sentinel Newspaper that talks about SpaceX's public secrecy about this incident:

Public deserves less secrecy and more information about SpaceX capsule 'anomaly' | Editorial

a reply to: wildespace

My mistake. I'll own up to it. I've not heard it called dinitrogen. Just nitrogen.

Give me the cone of shame.

SpaceX finally confirms capsule exploded.

originally posted by: Zaphod58
SpaceX finally confirms capsule exploded.

The investigation can't just be about the design of the capsule, but also be about potential issues that might arise from the re-use of the capsule, considering that the one that exploded was the same vehicle that went up and splashed down back in March.

Reusability is a key aspect of this vehicle in the eyes of SpaceX, and it would be vital to know if the wear and tear on the vehicle from one launch, orbital use, return, and recovery of a Dragon 2 can cause damage that could lead to catastrophic loss.

So I'm sure the investigation cannot only be about "what's potentially wrong with our design", but also "what potential damage might be done during a flight that makes reusing a craft a risky proposition".

It seems to me if they find that there is a potential for damage to certain systems from a previous flight, they would need to redesign those systems so that risk can be virtually eliminated.

a reply to: Zaphod58

Supposedly happened prior to the testing of the SuperDraco thruster.

a reply to: anzha

They were 0.5 seconds from firing the thrusters when it happened. It was during the activation process.

m.aviationweek.com...

originally posted by: Zaphod58
a reply to: anzha

They were 0.5 seconds from firing the thrusters when it happened. It was during the activation process.

m.aviationweek.com...

I read somewhere that it occurred when the SuperDraco abort thrusters were being pressurized prior to activation, and (as you pointed out) the anomaly occurred 0.5 seconds from the time they were planning to fire the thrusters. So while the issue may not have been with the SuperDraco thruster itself, it appears it could be associated with the procedures and systems required to fire the abort thrusters.

They've tested these thrusters hundreds of times, so whatever caused the failure is probably not an issue with the design of the thruster system (i.e., when everything built and installed is as designed). However, this is a pre-used vehicle that flew once before, and something might have occurred during this craft's previous flight that caused parts of that system to "no longer be as designed."

If they can't pin the issue down to a design or manufactured flaw, and they can't find the issue on the destroyed craft (due to not being able to sort through damage caused by the explosion), they I wonder if that will require an additional unmanned test flight to be able to pour over the craft with a fine-tooth comb after it returns from space to determine all "wear and tear" items that a space flight causes to see if it was that wear and tear that resulted in the explosion.

And that could (likely would?) set back their planned manned test, which is currently scheduled for July.