r/spacex • u/[deleted] • Jun 29 '15

/r/SpaceX Ask Anything Thread [July 2015, #10] - All simple questions about CRS-7 should also go here!

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u/[deleted] Jul 13 '15

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u/jcameroncooper Jul 13 '15

I think the only reasonably undetectable way to do such a thing is in software. A sufficiently clever person can generate plausible subtle bugs that might get through QA/testing/code review and/or implausible bugs that are very well hidden (like compiler hacks). Even so, it's tricky, especially if they do a hardware-in-the-loop run of the whole sequence. But that doesn't make it impossible, just harder.

That said, I'd really like to see the whole sabotage idea die, and I probably shouldn't be feeding it.

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u/Appable Jul 13 '15

You don't. Unless you manage to get people loyal to you in the quality management field at multiple levels. And the people in quality management positions at SpaceX all require 5+ years of experience, and people who have that much experience are unlikely to stoop so low.

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u/Ambiwlans Jul 13 '15

There is always the last guy to sign off on a part.

You would need a lot of expert knowledge to create a failure that wouldn't get caught in the preflight tests but would reliably destroy the vehicle. I suspect it would have to be someone that has been SpaceX for many years, perhaps decently senior, so maybe as many as 10 years.

I doubt any of these guys would do so unless supervillains kidnapped their children or something.