SpaceX is pushing the boundaries of what is possible, so it’s no surprise they have made some mistakes along the way. Any other company would sweep this under the rug. So it’s almost like SpaceX is proud of their failures since it’s proof of just how hard they are playing.
Rockets and spacecraft like these have always been some of the most optimistic forms of technology I can think of.
I mean, all rockets can trace their history all the way back to the first forms of ammunition. And these tools have been used for the wholesale slaughter of people; stuffed with lead, black powder, gunpowder, and even fissile material.
But then some idealistic schmo thought: “Wouldn’t it be great to ride that to the Moon?” Who knew replacing warheads with people would change the whole context of a thing?
Hopefully next year, when SpaceX sends up people, I’ll be watching it with that same sense of incredulity. And wonder.
We bugged out to Central Florida last week as a stopover on our way to Georgia. My dad lives in Titusville which is right by Canaveral. We were standing in his kitchen when we heard grumbling and then the house windows started rattling. His girl started yelling “come watch the rocket!” By the time I got outside I could just see the trail. Ten minutes later I was outside getting stuff out of my car when I heard a big BOOM!!!! I hoped the rocket hadn’t failed. Come to find out that was the booster coming back in to land at supersonic speed! I got to feel and hear the whole sequence, it was pretty neat!
Is there a reason why these rockets are so prone to explode? The failed engine sensor, it just did a 180 turn and boom. A relatively gentle fall onto the floor and boom. Do they explode for safety reasons?
SpaceX is pushing the boundaries of what is possible, so it’s no surprise they have made some mistakes along the way. Any other company would sweep this under the rug. So it’s almost like SpaceX is proud of their failures since it’s proof of just how hard they are playing.
Twitter user [@elonmusk](https://twitter.com/elonmusk/) tweeted the video:
https://twitter.com/elonmusk/status/908254079092002816 (Twitter video)
https://twitter.com/elonmusk/status/908254739825025025 (Link to YouTube)
*Long road to reusabity of Falcon 9 primary boost stage…When upper stage & fairing also reusable, costs will drop by a factor >100.*
Didnt know there were That many failed tests. Whoa.
The captions were both helpful and entertaining.
Rockets and spacecraft like these have always been some of the most optimistic forms of technology I can think of.
I mean, all rockets can trace their history all the way back to the first forms of ammunition. And these tools have been used for the wholesale slaughter of people; stuffed with lead, black powder, gunpowder, and even fissile material.
But then some idealistic schmo thought: “Wouldn’t it be great to ride that to the Moon?” Who knew replacing warheads with people would change the whole context of a thing?
Hopefully next year, when SpaceX sends up people, I’ll be watching it with that same sense of incredulity. And wonder.
Ad Astra per aspera. A rough road to the stars.
They have come a long way in a very short time. To me this is a reminder of how many failures occur before success.
Seeing them nearly land, and slowly tip over was oddly satisfying just because of the insane explosion that I knew was on the way.
Excellent choice of music.
Does anyone know where to find the video of the footage starting at 16 seconds?
Does it have no choice to explode the second it loses balance?
Nothing wrong with failing, as long as you learn from your mistakes.. and boy there has been a lot of them.
Today, SpaceX is the cheapest way of launching a satellite into orbit.
Goodjob SpaceX!
Wow I’ve never seen that clip of the booster sliding around the drone ship on its way back. That’s insane
That self-irony tho
Gotta love how it explodes every time, no matter how it fails.
Should have F5 before trying to land, classic beginner mistake.
[Remarkably few failures actually compared to NASA..](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g79K-R7xTFo)
This video is like “try catching on to our knowledge”.
Once they start mining space they’ll be the most massive corporation in history.
Here’s the [landed booster](https://youtu.be/YCv31VFk1Lg) being transported to give you a sense of scale.
These videos do not allow to appreciate how big these rockets are http://i.stack.imgur.com/FYvrC.jpg
How tall is the booster?
I thought this was spacex not kerbal space program
Great!
0’17” is enormously satisfying for some reason.
i find it very interesting that when they tip over, the instant that it touches the ground it explodes.
Dumb question. Why did they explode every time the nose touched the ground?
We bugged out to Central Florida last week as a stopover on our way to Georgia. My dad lives in Titusville which is right by Canaveral. We were standing in his kitchen when we heard grumbling and then the house windows started rattling. His girl started yelling “come watch the rocket!” By the time I got outside I could just see the trail. Ten minutes later I was outside getting stuff out of my car when I heard a big BOOM!!!! I hoped the rocket hadn’t failed. Come to find out that was the booster coming back in to land at supersonic speed! I got to feel and hear the whole sequence, it was pretty neat!
This is amazingly good humor about the failures.
Love the Monty Python theme. 😀
i am genuinly laughing at this
Wow, they seem so fragile when the fall over like that.
Like a liquid Oxygen balloon, with an open flame on it’s ass.
Space XD
Is there a reason why these rockets are so prone to explode? The failed engine sensor, it just did a 180 turn and boom. A relatively gentle fall onto the floor and boom. Do they explode for safety reasons?
I had to watch a few seconds to be sure it wasn’t Kerbal.
Would it be possible to build a giant catching mechanism such as a mechanical arm or something similar? Would that help improve the landing rate?
I could watch this forever.
These look like Micheal Bay made rockets. Slowly tips over, IMMEDIATELY EXPLODES INTO A MILLION PEICES.
So least they learned from each crash We’ll it seems at least )
Was this directed by Michael Bay
And now for something completely different…
Love that they had the sense of humour to put this together!
You gotta admit, for a guy who started out with the domain name x.com, Elon’s done alright for himself.
Now I know what my kerbal space program would look like in real life
Major ouch. Can only imagine the cost.
Airbags Elon!
Thought this was going to be Kerbal, pleasantly surprised it was a SpaceX mashup
I have to think the folks at SpaceX know more about how not to land a rocket than anyone else in history.
At several points during the video, i was expecting a giant cartoon foot to come out of the sky ans squish everything.
I’m imagining that there are people in all those rockets, and everything is so light-hearted with fun music and nonchalant commentaries.
I like to think Elon wrote all the commentary at the bottom of the video himself.