Questions tagged [range-safety]
Questions regarding the procedures in place to protect the area around a launch from damage in case of launch failure.
28
questions
4
votes
0
answers
340
views
Was it another Fishing Tournament?
@KimHolder's thorough answer to What are the consequences for a person who violates a launch exclusion zone? mentioned a fishing tournament. @PearsonArtPhoto's comment about scheduling launches during ...
- 149k
26
votes
1
answer
4k
views
Do all launches include self-destruct mechanisms?
Do all launches involve self-destruct mechanisms? How do they usually work? Is it just the boosters that are required to self-destruct? In the case of the space shuttle, how about the external tank?
...
- 6,043
20
votes
6
answers
1k
views
Why don't unmanned launch vehicles include launch escape system for payload?
Mention of Launch Escape System (LES) brings to mind images of the crew on board a spacecraft ejecting at launch; the crew being the most valuable cargo on board.
Launch vehicles may also be unmanned,...
- 13.6k
9
votes
1
answer
385
views
Most recent launch of a nuclear reactor, and current barriers to launching the next one?
The question What happened to Kilopower generators? about Kilopower nuclear reactors got me thinking.
Answer(s) to How many nuclear fission reactors have been launched into space? How many are still ...
- 149k
8
votes
3
answers
607
views
Why would autonomous auto-destruct ramp up launch tempo/cadence?
This thorough answer by @Hobbes links to the item Auto-destruct system seen as a key to ramping up launch tempos.
I'd like to understand Why would autonomous auto-destruct ramp up launch tempo?
I have ...
- 149k
19
votes
7
answers
5k
views
Space Shuttle range safety system - Why is there a caution light?
Why did the Space Shuttle have an indicator to alert the crew to the arming of the range safety destruct system? Quoting from here:
The first message, called arm, allows the onboard logic to enable ...
- 435
15
votes
1
answer
1k
views
How are self-destructs implemented in rocketry?
Many rocket systems are equipped with self-destructs to prevent an out-of-control vehicle from wandering too far from its intended path and becoming a hazard. Presumably, the objective is to kill the ...
- 17.5k
12
votes
1
answer
3k
views
Which launch was the first to use a dogleg maneuver?
Jake Blocker's excellent answer to How does one dogleg from Florida to a sun-synchronous orbit? explains what a dogleg maneuver is, what it's for, what it looks like, and even what a real dog's leg ...
- 149k
9
votes
1
answer
3k
views
What are the consequences for a person who violates a launch exclusion zone?
The SpaceX launch attempt on Sunday 02/28/16 had problems partly because of a delay due to a boat in the launch exclusion zone. Elon Musk tweeted
"Launch aborted on low-thrust alarm. Rising oxygen ...
- 21.4k
8
votes
3
answers
2k
views
Rocket explosion compared to kT of TNT; has one ever knocked something over at a distance?
The energy equivalent of 1 gram of TNT is about 1 kcal or large Calorie. For reference, 1 gram of carbohydrates gives us almost 4 Calories of energy (if we are lucky enough to use it and not store it)....
- 149k
3
votes
1
answer
678
views
What's up with the "What's Up at Wallops" app?
While reading about the recent Wallops launch for the question Does the Mars2020 lander need a new parachute design? and trying to confirm how to spell Wallops, I ran across the "free What’s Up at ...
- 149k
14
votes
1
answer
3k
views
What is involved in clearing air space for an orbital launch?
When the Nov 25th, 2013 SpaceX Falcon 9 v1.1 launch was scrubbed on a Monday, next launch opportunity was reported as Thursday (Thanksgiving) since the Tues/Wed days are the busiest day in the year ...
- 79.6k
7
votes
3
answers
781
views
Possible places for a launch complex in UK and continental Europe
Reading "Britain selects U.S., French, British teams to study spaceport feasibility" — I can imagine places in Europe for retrograde or polar launches, but are there places where standard LEO/...
- 5,128
6
votes
1
answer
1k
views
Ground personnel proximity to space shuttle at launch?
In watching some YouTube videos of US Space Shuttle launches, I was wondering how close personnel were to the actual launch pad during a launch that weren't actually on the Shuttle itself? Obviously ...
- 2,798
6
votes
1
answer
2k
views
Why are lightning towers at launch pads topped with big hollow tubes with spiral windings and not "lightning rod-shaped" lightning rods?
https://xkcd.com/2107/
Why are the lightning towers around launch pads topped with big hollow tubes with spiral windings? Why not conventional lightning rods - big metal rods with pointy things at ...
- 149k
4
votes
1
answer
704
views
How did JPL detonate a liquid oxygen methane mixture with light?
This answer to Pre-mixing cryogenic fuels and using only one fuel tank quotes John D. Clark's Ignition! Chapter 11: The Hopeful Monoprops, and the quote includes the line:
How he avoided ...
- 149k
23
votes
6
answers
5k
views
How can a rocket's self-destruct make for a safer situation than being out-of-control?
On the Sci-Fi Stack Exchange there was a question about implementing self-destruct on spaceships and comparing that to scuttling on naval vessels. One person in a comment said, "They do implement a ...
- 1,132
8
votes
1
answer
2k
views
Why do the Chinese launch most of their rockets so far from the coast?
We know that launching rockets near the coast is safe for human settlement areas in case a failure occurs. But, why does China launch its rockets so far from the coast (near hills)? Many launch sites ...
- 1,506
5
votes
1
answer
892
views
Just how "unreasonably gigantic" was the exclusion zone for the scrubbed SpaceX's Transporter-2 Mission first attempt?
Watching Transporter-2 Mission, currently after 15:02 in the video (after an extended hold at T-00:00:11) I heard a voice say:
...
- 149k
4
votes
1
answer
298
views
Visibility requirement for launch; when can it be ignored (or "mitigated"), and why?
The Space.com article NASA Gives 'Go' for InSight Mars Lander Launch, Visible or Not includes the passage:
As of Thursday morning, there was an 80 percent chance of the marine fog layer exceeding the ...
- 149k
1
vote
1
answer
231
views
If the Earth spun clockwise, would Florida have still satisfied the requirements for the US launch center in the 1960's?
In a comment under the question If the Earth spun clockwise, how would that affect Space Exploration? I wrote:
Kennedy Space Center would be a lot closer to JPL; not sure what all happens with the ...
- 149k
18
votes
6
answers
7k
views
Why was Space X's Starship blown up?
I understand that thousands of small rocket fragments will cause less damage when they fall than an intact rocket. But at the time Starship was detonated, I believe it was over the ocean, and not ...
- 1,042
8
votes
1
answer
824
views
What rocket launch protocols (if any) are in place to prevent premature or late intentional self-destruct?
There's a few related questions about rocket self-destruct mechanisms here already, e.g.:
How are self-destructs implemented in rocketry? (covers how they work)
Do all launches include self-destruct ...
- 183
7
votes
1
answer
621
views
What is Tesseract's "secret sauce"? (green propellant)
TechCrunch's Tesseract makes spacecraft propulsion smaller, greener, stronger tells us to "ditch the hazmat suits" and https://www.tesseract.space/products-and-services lists the Lyra 22 (i.e. 22 ...
- 149k
5
votes
1
answer
327
views
Does the Proton-M have a launch termination system?
I was under the assumption that, in contrast to the oft-repeated "oh, those Russians", Protons actually do have launch termination systems which can be used to destroy the vehicle, akin to ...
- 10.7k
2
votes
1
answer
222
views
Range safety - is the goal both autonomy and standardization - and would it include the "black box" in the rocket?
This and this answer have addressed various issues related to the new Autonomous Flight Safety System, and the second answer addresses one potential benefit being a reduction in turn-around time for ...
- 149k
1
vote
1
answer
217
views
Are core stages going to start falling unpredictably from orbit somewhat regularly now?
Spaceflight Now's U.S. military tracking unguided re-entry of large Chinese rocket includes the following:
In the case of the Long March 5B, the core stage delivered its payload — a prototype ...
- 149k
0
votes
2
answers
196
views
Has "Auto-Destruct" shown any impact on launch tempo yet?
The excellent answer to the question Why would autonomous auto-destruct ramp up launch tempo? explains how it significantly reduces the extent of certain activities and responsibilities. In short:
...
- 149k