Most powerful rocket ever built Superheavy set to attempt launch from Boca Chica Tx (Page 4/4) Notorio APR 26, 11:46 AM quote Originally posted by kslish: ... Gene Kranz would have probably said the same thing. "Rapid Unscheduled Disassembly" is rocket geek speak that has been used for decades. It's found even in McDonnel Douglas documentation describing a Saturn-IVB stage rupturing during a test in the 1960's where the term used was RUDE, as in a Rapid, Unplanned Disassembly Event. I'm pretty also sure Elon would fire anyone that requires a safe space or an emotional coach. Interesting. I stand corrected. Notorio APR 26, 11:49 AM Here's some interesting 'armchair' thoughts about the many engine failures. Notorio APR 26, 11:57 AM On a related note (and I can appreciate that the Raptor failures were a 'entire system' experience, not just an isolated engine design problem), some years ago I got to wondering why modern rockets are not using Rocketdyne engines from the Apollo days. There are fascinating details in this article and this gave me a new level of admiration for what was accomplished back then. Why Can’t We Remake The Rocketdyne F1 Engine? kslish MAY 01, 04:34 PM Elon had a event on Twitter Spaces on Saturday. Some things of note: 1.) 3 engines were shut down on launch as they didn't throttle up correctly. 2.) They lost two more engines in flight. 3.) The hydraulic systems started to fail at approximately 85 seconds into flight, eventually causing loss of directional control. This was a factor in why they never made stage separation. This was the only fully functional Super Heavy booster built with hydraulic controls, booster #9 (the next one up) uses electric TVC (Thrust vector control) actuators instead of hydraulic ones. 4.) The most concerning thing according to Elon (even more than the pad erosion) was the fact that the flight termination system took 40 seconds to destroy the rocket, this lag will require them to recertify the system with the FAA (which may take a while). 5.) Next launch they will only hold the rocket on the pad for 2-3 seconds before release unlike the 6 seconds of this launch which should help mitigate what the pad needs to withstand. 6.) Next launch will still most likely only have a 30-50% probability of completing the orbital mission. Apparently, he says the pad will be repaired in 6-8 weeks (so 12-16 weeks translated from Elon time to real world time). They plan on installing an additional water deluge system and a water cooled "steel sandwich" under the pad. The water and LOx tanks at the pad were already scheduled to be replaced with vacuum jacketed versions, but the commercial tank supplier couldn't supply them in time which is why they built their own temporary ones. Booster #9 is next up with it's upgraded systems. Which Starship to launch next is up in the air, they have #26 (no heat shield and no flaps), and #27 (with heat shield tiles and flaps). If they use #26, presumably stage separation will be the primary new goal, and not orbit....which would be a bonus and most likely burn up on reentry without flaps and heat tiles (or go boom if they figure out their flight termination system issues).