Monday, April 24, 2023

From Liane*in*VT (whose brother in law is an actual rocket scientist)

So, it turns out, Musk overruled his engineers and did not have flame diverters installed in the launch pad. This is what happened to the launch pad.


Some of the speculation among those who do this kind of thing is that debris from the destruction of the launch pad damaged the 8 engines that were visibly not functioning immediately after launch.


Expensive and reckless decision, if that turns out to be the cause.

23 comments:

  1. So, Musk got his start with PayPal. That is all I need to know.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Funny, the spouse and I had a conversation just the other day about how concrete can be burnt.

    ReplyDelete
  3. 0430 hrs and I haven't been able to sleep; rest, but not sleep. Presumably a reaction to the Covid booster (which I had about 4PM. Well, that's nothing much.
    ----Alan

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. So strange since we were so tired that I slept 11 hours and Wil slept 16! But it definitely does something to your usual stamina and pattern. We're FINE today!! Hang in there.

      Delete
  4. I am thinking that it is time to discontinue my consulting practice (in forensic toxicology). I am more than ten years past full retirement age, and I am getting out of practice. Also traveling long distances is too hard now. Unfortunately I don't know anyone I can recommend to defense attorneys; matters are especially difficult for public defenders because their budgets are so tight. All the people I knew who did that sort of work for the defense bar are retired, dead, or both.
    ---Alan

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Lack of sleep may be influencing me.
      ---Alan

      Delete
    2. I was in my late 70s when I started to feel the ned to slow down. I believe I was 78 when I shifted from an essentially full-time contract to part-time, then fully retired at 82. Luckily, my clients were able to find somebpdy who probably fit their needs even better. She joined the group as an actual researcher but with English-language writing skills entirely adequate to do their journal articles and grant applications.

      Delete
    3. Is there any young whipper snapper in the field whom you could mentor?

      Wil is beginning to train Root*Center*Son on the software work he does, so R*C*S can take over the company at some point. But there's sooo much to know! I guess we'll see how they progress.

      Delete
    4. I don't think any of the whippersnappers I know, or know of, are likely to be interested.
      ---Alan

      Delete
  5. In re the SpaceX launch--- I am reminded of the old saw that NASA never had failures, only limited successes. And I remember seeing the newsreel of the Vanguard satellite "launch." As memory serves me the rocket got about four feet off the launch pad before undergoing a rapid disassenbly.
    From Wikipedia:
    The December 6, 1957 Project Vanguard launch failure occurred at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida. It was a monumental failure, exploding a few seconds after launch, and it became an international joke. The satellite appeared in newspapers under the names Flopnik, Stayputnik, Kaputnik,[64] and Dudnik. In the United Nations, the Soviet delegate offered the US representative aid "under the Soviet program of technical assistance to backwards nations. Only in the wake of this very public failure did von Braun's Redstone team get the go-ahead to launch their Jupiter-C rocket as soon as they could."
    --Alan

    ReplyDelete
  6. (Susan) Woo hoo! Happy Dance! Fox just fired Tucker Carlson and CNN fired Don Lemon.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I'm doing backflips about TC!!

      Delete

    2. Fired Carlson? Gee. I don't know Don Lemon, but Wikipedia is informative.
      ---Alan

      Delete
    3. Tucker Carlson Was Pushed Out by Rupert Murdoch [Click] Rupert feeling some heat?
      —Alan

      Delete
    4. Tucker Carlson Didn’t See It Coming
      April 24, 2023 By Taegan Goddard

      Tucker Carlson, who was apparently fired by Fox News today, had these final words on his show last Friday: “We’ll be back on Monday.”

      Delete
  7. We've been waiting for a part for our Maverick since February. Just learned that it might be available May 29th, but no guarantees. Of course, without the part our check engine light keeps coming on, which precludes getting a new inspection sticker...which was due end of March. Hmmm.

    ReplyDelete
  8. Hmmmmm indeed. Probably can't get a replacement from a junk yard for such a new vehicle.
    ---Alan

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Yup.
      You'd think we'd have learned when we bought one of the first Honda Civid Hybrids, then couldn't yet get a new transmission from Japan when needed. That's how come I bought my first Mini Cooper! So what did we do, years later? We ordered a new-fangled truck during a pandemic when there were huge supply chain issues. Ha! What could possibly go wrong?

      Delete
    2. How about an nice refurbished four door Model A Ford? Or an Imperial?
      ---Alan
      [Chrysler] Imperial Wikipedia entry [Click]

      Delete
    3. Your garage probably wouldn’t accommodate one of these. [Click] Zero problems with electrical parts, though.

      Or maybe one of these? [Click]
      —Alan

      Delete