Blue Origin capsule blasts away from booster after anomaly during launch
youtube.comOn one hand, it stinks that it's not going better for them. On the positive side, it looks like if there was a real emergency the crew could have escaped.
I was pleasantly surprised to see this pop up on /r/opensource. It looks like blue origin is contributing to open source now https://github.com/hgrecco/pint/pull/1574.
> On the positive side, it looks like if there was a real emergency the crew could have escaped.
Looking at the video, it seems like the BE-3 engine was having some trouble for about 3 seconds from T+01:01 to T+01:04 - just before the escape system was triggered. In fact, it looks to me like the entire aft section of the vehicle just disintegrated before the escape system plume covered its view. It might very well be that the escape system saved the crew.
Edit: Looking further at the video, it looks like the vehicle also lost attitude control and started tilting at that instant. It could easily be due to the loss of propulsion and thrust vector control. However, it also happens at a very critical stage - close to maximum dynamic pressure (Qmax). Any increase in angle of attack at that stage would put enormous aerodynamic loads on the airframe.
> It might very well be that the escape system saved the crew.
Would have saved the crew, as this was an uncrewed launch. Nice to build confidence in the escape system.
Oh! I missed the 'uncrewed' part! Nevertheless, the video itself has a good view of the failure. I can't wait for the public domain failure analyses based on it.
Issue happens at 1:14 on the Youtube video. I imagine they cut the broadcaster's mic (or they had some impressive self-discipline) as you hear nothing at all from the commentator until a corporate statement is read.
Sounds like the mic was cut. Still, it's good to see that the escape system worked as intended. The landing of the capsule looked a bit hard, though.