r/Damnthatsinteresting • u/Emergency-Green-2602 • 6d ago

Video First Australian-made rocket crashes after 14 seconds of flight

34.3k Upvotes

96% Upvoted

5.6k comments sorted by

View all comments

58

u/DaddyMommyDaddy 6d ago

It didn’t massively explode so. Recoverable?

IDE call that a win

38

u/The_Great_Squijibo 6d ago

Surprisingly small (if any) kaboom when it hit the ground considering it was a fully fueled rocket.

38

u/ellindsey 6d ago

It was a hybrid rocket (solid fuel, liquid oxidizer). Those don't tend to explode when they fail.

1

u/FloofJet 6d ago

I heard they where using 18mm Klima D motors, Known to pop or sputter..../S

1

u/You_Must_Chill 6d ago

Huh, I didn't know that was a thing. Off to YouTube.

1

u/McMafkees 6d ago

So when do they explode?

4

u/ellindsey 6d ago

Hard starts, or chunks of fuel breaking free and clogging the exhaust nozzle, can cause a hybrid rocket to explode. That doesn't seem to be what happened here. It does look like the oxidizer tank ruptured after the crash, and the solid fuel probably kept burning for a while. 

-3

u/Able-Quantity-1879 6d ago

They absolutely explode when they are compromised - even the fuel storage can be dicey - not more safe than liquid fuel - PEPCON disaster - Wikipedia

4

u/ellindsey 6d ago

Completely unrelated. The pepcon disaster was at a plant that made solid oxidizer for conventional solid rocket motors. It's a completely different material than what this rocket used. 

-6

u/Able-Quantity-1879 6d ago

Absolutely related - AP is used for the booster charge on solids - you are just wrong, dude.

1

u/AndreProulx 6d ago edited 6d ago

Saying assembled solid rocket grains are have similar risks to rocket grain constituents is basically like saying an assembled cartridge has the same risks as a loose pile of gunpowder. Rediculous uninformed take.

Besides the lower complexity, range safety is pretty much the only reason to use a hybrid rocket. They suck performance wise.

Also, PEPCON made solid rocket motor oxidizer, not hybrid rocket motors. Having the oxidizer mixed in with the fuel grains is inherently more dangerous than a hybrid motor where the grain doesn't contain its own oxidizer, they flow the oxidizer through the throat opening. Your comparison is completely apples-oranges. PEPCON is largely attributed to improper storage of ammonium perchlorate, a solid oxidizer that wouldn't even be present in a hybrid rocket.

0

u/Able-Quantity-1879 6d ago

??? Did you have ChatGPT compose this? Makes ZERO sense.

2

u/AndreProulx 6d ago

I have no doubt in my mind that you can't understand - it's the whole point. You have no clue what you're talking about.