2 killed, 4 injured in explosion at rocket test site in Mojave
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2 killed, 4 injured in explosion at rocket test site in Mojave
>>Couldn't find a prior post. Sad about the deaths and injuries. Hope things will be alright for Burt Rutan.
Two people were killed and four others were critically injured this afternoon in an explosion at a test site for small rocket engines at Mojave Airport in Kern County, authorities said.
The explosion, which was apparently ignited by a tank of nitrous oxide, occurred at 2:45 p.m., authorities said. It happened at what officials said was a remote section at the northeastern edge of the airport.
Mike Potter, who operates P & M Aircraft Co., about a half mile away, said one of his workers called him from the yard to tell him about the explosion.
It occurred at rocket engine testing facility run by Scaled Composites, operated by space entrepreneur Burt Rutan, who built the rocket that made the first private manned space flight on June 21, 2004. Century City-based Northrop Grumman, already a 40% owner of the company, recently agreed to buy the rest of the business.
"An employee called and said there's been an explosion over at Scaled and there was a huge sound wave," Potter said. "Shortly thereafter, the cops were all over the place."
latimes.com
Two people were killed and four others were critically injured this afternoon in an explosion at a test site for small rocket engines at Mojave Airport in Kern County, authorities said.
The explosion, which was apparently ignited by a tank of nitrous oxide, occurred at 2:45 p.m., authorities said. It happened at what officials said was a remote section at the northeastern edge of the airport.
Mike Potter, who operates P & M Aircraft Co., about a half mile away, said one of his workers called him from the yard to tell him about the explosion.
It occurred at rocket engine testing facility run by Scaled Composites, operated by space entrepreneur Burt Rutan, who built the rocket that made the first private manned space flight on June 21, 2004. Century City-based Northrop Grumman, already a 40% owner of the company, recently agreed to buy the rest of the business.
"An employee called and said there's been an explosion over at Scaled and there was a huge sound wave," Potter said. "Shortly thereafter, the cops were all over the place."
latimes.com
Ecce Homo! Loquitur...
MOJAVE, Calif. (AP) - An explosion on Thursday killed two workers and critically injured four others at a Mojave Desert airport site used by the pioneering aerospace company that sent the first private manned rocket into space, authorities said.
The blast at a Mojave Air and Space Port facility belonging to Scaled Composites LLC released nitrous oxide, or laughing gas, into the air. Haz-Mat teams were on the scene as a precaution and fire authorities said the scene was safe. All the victims worked for Scaled, the Mojave-based builder of SpaceShipOne, the first private manned rocket to reach space.
Aerospace designer Burt Rutan, who heads Scaled but was away, rushed back to Mojave. He appeared emotional, hugging the airport manager and fire chief. His voice trailed off at times as he spoke to reporters. No information about the victims was released because families were being notified. Rutan said the blast did not involve a rocket firing but happened during a test of the flow of nitrous oxide through an injector in the course of testing components for a new rocket motor for the upcoming SpaceShipTwo. The nitrous oxide was at room temperature and under pressure, Rutan said.
Rutan gave little additional information about the test, but said it had been done safely many times during the SpaceShipOne program and had been done once before for the SpaceShipTwo program. "We were doing a test we believe was safe. We don't know why it exploded. We just don't know,'' he said..........
Scaled's offices and aircraft construction facilities were closed late Thursday. Authorities did not allow access to the blast site in a remote unpaved area about a quarter-mile beyond an airplane storage area. Video news helicopters showed wrecked equipment and vehicles at the airport in the high desert north of Los Angeles near Edwards Air Force Base.
Scaled uses nitrous oxide as an oxidizer in its rockets, which are tested at the airport. An oxidizer provides the oxygen that rocket fuel needs to burn. Scaled's Web site notes that "temperatures and pressures must be carefully controlled'' during oxidizer transfers.
Paramedics reported two people were killed, four were critically injured and one suffered minor injuries, said Mark Corum, a spokesman for Hall Ambulance Service. The injured were airlifted to Kern Medical Center about 45 miles from the airport, he said.......
The blast at a Mojave Air and Space Port facility belonging to Scaled Composites LLC released nitrous oxide, or laughing gas, into the air. Haz-Mat teams were on the scene as a precaution and fire authorities said the scene was safe. All the victims worked for Scaled, the Mojave-based builder of SpaceShipOne, the first private manned rocket to reach space.
Aerospace designer Burt Rutan, who heads Scaled but was away, rushed back to Mojave. He appeared emotional, hugging the airport manager and fire chief. His voice trailed off at times as he spoke to reporters. No information about the victims was released because families were being notified. Rutan said the blast did not involve a rocket firing but happened during a test of the flow of nitrous oxide through an injector in the course of testing components for a new rocket motor for the upcoming SpaceShipTwo. The nitrous oxide was at room temperature and under pressure, Rutan said.
Rutan gave little additional information about the test, but said it had been done safely many times during the SpaceShipOne program and had been done once before for the SpaceShipTwo program. "We were doing a test we believe was safe. We don't know why it exploded. We just don't know,'' he said..........
Scaled's offices and aircraft construction facilities were closed late Thursday. Authorities did not allow access to the blast site in a remote unpaved area about a quarter-mile beyond an airplane storage area. Video news helicopters showed wrecked equipment and vehicles at the airport in the high desert north of Los Angeles near Edwards Air Force Base.
Scaled uses nitrous oxide as an oxidizer in its rockets, which are tested at the airport. An oxidizer provides the oxygen that rocket fuel needs to burn. Scaled's Web site notes that "temperatures and pressures must be carefully controlled'' during oxidizer transfers.
Paramedics reported two people were killed, four were critically injured and one suffered minor injuries, said Mark Corum, a spokesman for Hall Ambulance Service. The injured were airlifted to Kern Medical Center about 45 miles from the airport, he said.......
Ecce Homo! Loquitur...
OS ANGELES, California (CNN) -- A third person died Friday from an explosion at a rocket test pad operated by a private company in California's southern Mojave Desert, according to the nursing supervisor at Kern Medical Center in Bakersfield.
The explosion, which occurred Thursday at the Mojave Air and Space Port in Mojave, California, initially killed two people and critically injured four others.
On Friday three people remained hospitalized -- two in critical condition, one in serious condition.......
The explosion, which occurred Thursday at the Mojave Air and Space Port in Mojave, California, initially killed two people and critically injured four others.
On Friday three people remained hospitalized -- two in critical condition, one in serious condition.......
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Nitrous oxide is fairly safe in comparison with other rocket oxidisers commonly used (e.g. hydrogen peroxide or dinitrogen tetroxide) but it can spontaneously decompose, like a monopropellant. This usually requires a localised high temperature to trigger the reaction but can also be caused by impurities. Any oxidiser system has to be kept clean of grease though nitrous is far more tolerant of impurities than, for example, high pressure oxygen or high test peroxide (HTP).
Alternatively, it could have been an over-pressure failure of a pressure vessel but this seems less likely due to the nature of damage reported.
A destructive (though non-fatal) nitrous transfer accident happened at Eindhoven some time back when a worn pump bearing overheated and caused spontaneous decomposition of nitrous in a bowser, so this sort of thing isn't unheard of. It is, however, very rare. Much amateur and commercial work has been carried out on nitrous oxide hybrids in recent times with no one suffering anything worse than minor cold-burns during liquid transfer.
During a hot test-firing of the rocket engine everyone would have been under cover and all operations carried out remotely (one always assumes the worst will happen during live firings). In comparison, propellant transfer is not a particularly dangerous process so there would have been more people around and no one would have been expecting anything like this to happen, especially given the benign track record of nitrous.
My thoughts go out to those guys and their families and I hope this doesn't set Scaled back too far in their programme.
B.
Alternatively, it could have been an over-pressure failure of a pressure vessel but this seems less likely due to the nature of damage reported.
A destructive (though non-fatal) nitrous transfer accident happened at Eindhoven some time back when a worn pump bearing overheated and caused spontaneous decomposition of nitrous in a bowser, so this sort of thing isn't unheard of. It is, however, very rare. Much amateur and commercial work has been carried out on nitrous oxide hybrids in recent times with no one suffering anything worse than minor cold-burns during liquid transfer.
During a hot test-firing of the rocket engine everyone would have been under cover and all operations carried out remotely (one always assumes the worst will happen during live firings). In comparison, propellant transfer is not a particularly dangerous process so there would have been more people around and no one would have been expecting anything like this to happen, especially given the benign track record of nitrous.
My thoughts go out to those guys and their families and I hope this doesn't set Scaled back too far in their programme.
B.
