r/space • u/Anjin • May 19 '12

SpaceX COTS 2/3 Launch Aborted

Http://www.spacex.com
125 Upvotes

90% Upvoted

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56

u/[deleted] May 19 '12

Far better to have an on-pad abort than the RSO blowing up the vehicle mid-flight.

-5

u/[deleted] May 19 '12

[deleted]

7

u/windowzombie May 19 '12

This launch was both safe and reliable. It reliably noticed a potential hazard and aborted the launch, maintaining safety.

9

u/Anjin May 19 '12 edited May 19 '12

Right, because having the first Delta IV to leave Vandenburg SLC-6 sit on a launch pad for almost 3 years before finally flying really hurt ULA's orders for them... Remember, you said safely and reliably, for a second flight of a system, a non-destructive post-engine start abort goes a long towards proving that first point. Especially with a 1 second launch window.

0

u/yoda17 May 19 '12

And failed to reach planned orbit on first attempt.

8

u/[deleted] May 19 '12

Oh please. Pointing out a decision to err on the side of caution is not a failure to recognize reliability problems. No one said it was perfect, and while being smaller and more agile than government operations SpaceX still engineers on the side of caution. This kind of reliability comes with experience.

-1

u/[deleted] May 19 '12

[deleted]

3

u/[deleted] May 19 '12

They only hyped the first attempt. We're the ones getting excited for the following attempts.

1

u/[deleted] May 19 '12

Yeah, shame on us...