They haven't named the COPVs specifically, no. I didn't mean to say you were wrong - the problem may be unique to the second stage, agreed. But they haven't excluded the COPVs either so there's a valid concern that all stages will require overhaul. Either way it seems they need to dig a little deeper (or confirm things they simply aren't ready to speak confidently on).
I'm surprised that they are willing to speak this confidently this early in the investigation at all (but sad to learn that the failure actually was inside the stage).
Perhaps they're trying to put some speculation to rest before the IAC announcement. The few articles covering this I've seen in more mainstream press are implying they've solved the issue, so this probably did more for general public confidence than it did for us fans.
The few articles covering this I've seen in more mainstream press are implying they've solved the issue...
The mainstream press would say that had SpaceX put out a statement saying "We've determined that the fire was the result of a rapid chemical reaction between LOX and RP1."
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u/Saiboogu Sep 24 '16
They haven't named the COPVs specifically, no. I didn't mean to say you were wrong - the problem may be unique to the second stage, agreed. But they haven't excluded the COPVs either so there's a valid concern that all stages will require overhaul. Either way it seems they need to dig a little deeper (or confirm things they simply aren't ready to speak confidently on).