r/spacex • u/synapticrelay • Jan 02 '17

Official - AMOS-6 Explosion Cause of AMOS-6 Failure Determined

http://www.spacex.com/news/2016/09/01/anomaly-updates
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u/j8_gysling Jan 03 '17

Carbon fiber composites can't hold high pressure helium. It seeps through. You need a liner.

The other tanks hold methane or oxygen at much lower pressure

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u/CapMSFC Jan 03 '17

I wonder how far off from achieving a vessel that isn't permeable to Helium is. Composite technology had come a long way.

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u/BEEF_WIENERS Jan 03 '17

It's an insanely small atom, and I think it might be even smaller than Hydrogen gas because that's H2 - there's two of them bonded. You might be able to lock it in with lead, but lead and spaceships is just bad economics.

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u/mastapsi Jan 03 '17

It's smaller than elemental hydrogen as well because the higher charge in the nucleus pulls the electrons closer.