SpaceX F9 - Starlink 5 - LC-39A

[ecarfan]

If the booster was able to make a somewhat controlled water landing perhaps it will be intact enough to be towed back to port for inspection. But if it made a hard landing at speed, than probably not.

 

[Grendal]

If the booster was able to make a somewhat controlled water landing perhaps it will be intact enough to be towed back to port for inspection. But if it made a hard landing at speed, than probably not.

I'm pretty sure it burned up. There was no landing burn startup announced at all. So I expect the booster broke up sometime after the entry burn completed and the video cut out.

 

[ecarfan]

I'm pretty sure it burned up. There was no landing burn startup announced at all. So I expect the booster broke up sometime after the entry burn completed and the video cut out.

You are probably right. I was just trying to hold out hope that SpaceX could recover the problem engine and take a look.

It would have been great to have seen the video feed from the booster right up to the RUD. I bet SpaceX has it.

 

[Grendal]

Scott Manley chimes in on the engine failure:

 

[Cosmacelf]

Scott Manley chimes in on the engine failure:

Unfortunately it's 10 minutes of him speculating and in the end he has no new information.

 

[Nikxice]

Earlier today SpaceX announced the launch date for Starlink 6. Next Thursday, April 16 @ 5:31 p.m. EDT. I think the good news here is that SpaceX (maybe NASA too) is satisfied with the results of their investigation into the recent Starlink 5 booster engine failure.

 

[Cosmacelf]

Earlier today SpaceX announced the launch date for Starlink 6. Next Thursday, April 16 @ 5:31 p.m. EDT. I think the good news here is that SpaceX (maybe NASA too) is satisfied with the results of their investigation into the recent Starlink 5 booster engine failure.

@Grendal we need a new thread, stat!

 

[Grendal]

Done!

 

[mongo]

Postmortem report on booster failure:
"Small amount of isopropyl alcohol (cleaning fluid) was trapped in a sensor dead leg & ignited in flight"
Elon on Twitter

 

[ecarfan]

Postmortem report on booster failure:
"Small amount of isopropyl alcohol (cleaning fluid) was trapped in a sensor dead leg & ignited in flight"
Elon on Twitter

What is a “sensor dead leg”?

 

[e-FTW]

What is a “sensor dead leg”?

I am imagining a bend in a pipe that leads to that sensor?

 

[ItsNotAboutTheMoney]

I am imagining a bend in a pipe that leads to that sensor?

I asked my friend Ian Google and he said "Dead Legs are areas of a piping system that rarely see flow, yet are still exposed to process, even if not explicitly cut off."

So, there was a dead leg with a sensor that had probably been cleaned, but then still had some residue, maybe because it didn't flush properly.