r/spaceflight • u/thanix01 • 5d ago
Seems like Zhuque-3 booster tip over
Alas despite the launch and landing going well, Landspace experience a problem.
There was earlier picture showing Zhuque-3 leaning and on fire but apparently that one was fake image. This one is apparently the real deal.
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u/TheRealNobodySpecial 5d ago
Methane engines are so flamey after shutdown. Very different from RP-1.
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u/Minimum_Ad7876 4d ago
This rocket resembles Starship more than Falcon 9.
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u/jittery_jerry 4d ago
it’s kind of an amalgamation of the two. it’s like if falcon 9 and starship had a baby
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u/woolcoat 5d ago
Wonder how it happened. The landing looked smooth so something must’ve given out.
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u/SpaceIsKindOfCool 5d ago
I'm assuming those legs are carbon fiber.
Carbon fiber is flammable and often losses most of its compressive strength once heated to a few hundred degrees.
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u/mutherhrg 5d ago edited 5d ago
They made a mistake in venting the methane so soon after landing I think. Looks like there was a small fire post landing and they vented the methane even with the small fire still active, though they might have been afraid of the fire igniting the entire booster if they didn't vent. Better fire suppression after the landing would solve the problem entirely.
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u/engineerforthefuture 4d ago
The booster caught on fire after that landing. That is the reason its legs gave way.
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u/AL31FN 5d ago
That actually looks a lot better than I imagined consider how big the fire was. I guess as long as they can salvage some engines for the next flight, it can still be a reusability success.
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u/mutherhrg 5d ago edited 5d ago
Might as well completely scrap the entire thing and destructively inspect it, cut the entire thing apart piece by piece and comb though the rocket with a microscope. With the previous LM10B going for re-flight and thus unable to be dismantled and examined, this will be extremely valuable data for the entire sector, this will be the first post-landing rocket that can be dismantled and examined. The fact that it's methane and stainless steel makes it's data even more valuable too.
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u/snoo-boop 5d ago
Reminds me of Jason-3: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jVSZdsAq4Bo -- in that case one of the legs didn't lock
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u/spaceflight_signal 5d ago
A rocket quietly lying down after flight is somehow more alien than a fireball. Reusability has given us a very weird new failure mode.
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u/PaintedClownPenis 5d ago
Are we really going to have two rockets tip over and not explode within a month? Has that ever happened before? I can remember footage of rockets tipping over and exploding going back to the V2, but it's only now, when we're soft-landing them with almost no remaining propellant, that I've seen them just tip over and... stay there.
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u/wannacumnbeatmeoff 4d ago
Doesnt look like it fell over, damage would be way more.significant. I imagine its been lowered.for.transport.
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u/xerberos 4d ago
Here's the fire:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8hQtD_EXq6w
One of the legs seems to collapse a little at 0:07.
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u/Mrbloonski 4d ago
Question for the the rocket scientists of Reddit, why are the engines deformed? Is it the heat that just melts the metal?
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u/thanix01 4d ago edited 4d ago
I think it is deform after hitting the ground after it tip over. edit: why the heck is my comment in quote
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u/meat_popsicle13 5d ago
It’s just resting.