LOX problem, quoth Internet scuttlebutt.
Charlie Stross's cheerful, optimistic predictions for 2017, part one of three.Seems to have been involved with the liquid oxygen fueling process, not the test firing proper. The good news is that that sort of thing is relatively simple to fix compared to if something had happened during the actual rocketry. The bad news is that they had to lose a rocket to figure out they had a problem.
Here's a video of the explosion (skip to about 1:10):
I may have been on the internet for too long. The article I found this one (this one
from Ars Technica) labelled that video with "Note: If you love rockets, this is difficult to watch" and my brain immediately translated that to "trigger warning: LOV". Better than LOCV, at least.
edited 1st Sep '16 12:21:14 PM by NativeJovian
Really from Jupiter, but not an alien.
Also, a very badly framed one. Michael Bay's first instinct probably was to get unhappy at the static cam and at the lost opportunity for a decent film of a really expensive set of bangs. Need more drones.
On a serious note: that went downhill very, very quickly even just eyeballing it. They probably realised they were lighting up for the wrong kind of boom milliseconds after ignition, given instrumental feedback. :/
edited 1st Sep '16 7:36:05 PM by Euodiachloris
So I saw a headline that Elon Musk is claiming that had the rocket been manned, the astronauts would have survived the explosion? I admit to not watching all the coverage, but isn't an explosion underneath you pretty much guaranteed to kill you one way or the other?note
That’s the epitome of privilege right there, not considering armed nazis a threat to your life. - SilaswDepends, the command capsule might be designed in such a way that it can detect an explosion beneath it and launch itself into the air temporarily before coming down slowly via a parachute.
“And the Bunny nails it!” ~ Gabrael “If the UN can get through a day without everyone strangling everyone else so can we.” ~ CyranYeah, manned rockets often have what essentially amount to ejection seats on the crew capsule. When Something Bad™ happens, the entire crew capsule gets blasted free of the rest of the vehicle. I don't know if the Falcon 9 specifically has something like that, but I imagine it would.
Really from Jupiter, but not an alien.China can no longer into space. http://www.popularmechanics.com/space/satellites/a22936/tiangong-falling-to-earth/
Sabotage may be behind Space X launch failure
Dam ULA to hell.
Yesterday was the anniversary of Sputnik.
edited 5th Oct '16 10:18:16 AM by optimusjamie
Direct all enquiries to Jamie B Good

A little follow up: The planet's orbital eccentricity may be high enough that it may have a 2:3 orbital resonance (like Mercury) rather than a tidal lock. In that case its surface would have far more clement conditions.
"For a successful technology, reality must take precedence over public relations, for Nature cannot be fooled." - Richard Feynman