Elon Musk has just tweeted the first photos of the Falcon 9's "close but no cigar" hard barge landing to fellow rocket enthusiast and Oculus VR evangelist John Carmack. After saying the frames were "kinda begging to be released," he tweeted out four of them, amusingly recounting the progress of the doomed 14-story-tall ship. The problems started when the rocket section's fins "lost power and (went) hardover," which the engine couldn't counter, resulting in a 45 degree angle crash into the deck. All hell broke loose after that, as "residual fuel and oxygen combine(d)," followed by a "Full RUD (rapid unscheduled disassembly) event," aka a fiery explosion.
Usually explosions aren't good, but it meant that the ship's' first stage actually found it's way to the relatively tiny barge after soaring over 50 miles into space. The hydraulic oil leak in the fins that caused the unfortunate final events already has a fix (er, more hydraulic oil), and the barge just took minor damage. Musk was never optimistic about the chances of success anyway, given the difficulty and the minor fact that it's never been tried before. Though the Falcon 9 didn't stick the landing, it certainly nailed the rest -- we'd give it a solid '9' with a few extra style points for the explosion.
@ID_AA_Carmack Before impact, fins lose power and go hardover. Engines fights to restore, but ... http://ift.tt/1ubBA3p
- Elon Musk (@elonmusk) January 16, 2015
@ID_AA_Carmack Rocket hits hard at ~45 deg angle, smashing legs and engine section http://ift.tt/1yj8g26
- Elon Musk (@elonmusk) January 16, 2015
@ID_AA_Carmack Residual fuel and oxygen combine http://ift.tt/1ubBCrW
- Elon Musk (@elonmusk) January 16, 2015
@ID_AA_Carmack Full RUD (rapid unscheduled disassembly) event. Ship is fine minor repairs. Exciting day! http://ift.tt/1yj8fLz
- Elon Musk (@elonmusk) January 16, 2015
Filed under: Transportation, Science
Source: Elon Musk
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