Jeff Bezoz - Spaceflight
Ecce Homo! Loquitur...
Joined: Jul 2000
Aviation Qualifications: Spotter
Posts: 24,662
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From: Peripatetic
https://x.com/deltaIV9250/status/206...812110553?s=20
Update on the status of the IF from the public NSF forum:
“-cameras showed substantial damage happening to the interior of the integration facility when the shockwave hit the building”
“And that includes damage to the other New Glenn booster that was in there”
From the public side of NSF: the building near the IF was on fire And the doors of the IF are busted (but it didn’t burn down luckily)
“Normally, no light is visible through them, so the blast wave must have propagated through the building, bulging the doors outward” - catdlr
Update on the status of the IF from the public NSF forum:
“-cameras showed substantial damage happening to the interior of the integration facility when the shockwave hit the building”
“And that includes damage to the other New Glenn booster that was in there”
From the public side of NSF: the building near the IF was on fire And the doors of the IF are busted (but it didn’t burn down luckily)
“Normally, no light is visible through them, so the blast wave must have propagated through the building, bulging the doors outward” - catdlr
Joined: Mar 2002
Aviation Qualifications: CPL
Posts: 3,395
Likes: 327
From: near an aeroplane
The Wikipedia page for LC36 is undergoing some heavy editing as various contributors are trying to change the word 'is' to 'was' in this sentence 
Launch Complex 36 (LC-36) is a launch complex located at the Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida[1][2].
Ecce Homo! Loquitur...
Joined: Jul 2000
Aviation Qualifications: Spotter
Posts: 24,662
Likes: 7,348
From: Peripatetic
https://x.com/tweetsiphotos/status/2...509653580?s=20
Photos from ~5000ft of the aftermath from last night's hotfire anomaly involving New Glenn at SLC-36.
Photos from ~5000ft of the aftermath from last night's hotfire anomaly involving New Glenn at SLC-36.
Joined: Feb 2002
Aviation Qualifications: AME
Posts: 4,182
Likes: 1,116
From: UK
Ecce Homo! Loquitur...
Joined: Jul 2000
Aviation Qualifications: Spotter
Posts: 24,662
Likes: 7,348
From: Peripatetic
Rocket explosions release far less energy than the total stored in propellants because the fuel mostly deflagrates rather than detonates. The N1 rocket stored ~7 GWh but yielded only 0.3-1 kt TNT (~0.35-1.2 GWh). Taking that into account….
https://x.com/robertgraham/status/20...428281090?s=20
A New Glenn rocket has 5.5 GWh of energy (first and second stage). The Little Boy bomb dropped on Hiroshima had 17.5 GWh of energy. The largest non-nuclear blast was Operation Minor Scale (1985) with 4.65 GWh of energy. The largest non-nuclear accidental blast was the Halifax explosion (1917) with 3.37 GWh of energy.
A New Glenn rocket has 5.5 GWh of energy (first and second stage). The Little Boy bomb dropped on Hiroshima had 17.5 GWh of energy. The largest non-nuclear blast was Operation Minor Scale (1985) with 4.65 GWh of energy. The largest non-nuclear accidental blast was the Halifax explosion (1917) with 3.37 GWh of energy.
https://x.com/GauchoGregMoore/status...466616100?s=20
Some other big explosions:
1) Port Chicago disaster (1944, accidental, Bay Area/California, USA): 1.86–2.56 GWh (1.6–2.2 kt TNT equivalent from munitions).
2) Texas City disaster (1947, accidental, near Galveston, Texas, USA): 0.85–1.00 GWh (0.73–0.86 kt TNT equivalent from ammonium nitrate).
3) Beirut port explosion (2020, accidental, Mediterranean/Lebanon): 0.58–1.30 GWh (best estimate ~0.64 GWh) (0.5–1.12 kt TNT equivalent, centered around 0.55 kt).
4) N1 rocket explosion (1969, accidental, Baikonur, USSR): ~0.76 GWh (mean ~0.65 kt TNT equivalent from rocket propellants).
Some other big explosions:
1) Port Chicago disaster (1944, accidental, Bay Area/California, USA): 1.86–2.56 GWh (1.6–2.2 kt TNT equivalent from munitions).
2) Texas City disaster (1947, accidental, near Galveston, Texas, USA): 0.85–1.00 GWh (0.73–0.86 kt TNT equivalent from ammonium nitrate).
3) Beirut port explosion (2020, accidental, Mediterranean/Lebanon): 0.58–1.30 GWh (best estimate ~0.64 GWh) (0.5–1.12 kt TNT equivalent, centered around 0.55 kt).
4) N1 rocket explosion (1969, accidental, Baikonur, USSR): ~0.76 GWh (mean ~0.65 kt TNT equivalent from rocket propellants).
Joined: Nov 2025
Aviation Qualifications: SLF
Posts: 108
Likes: 86
From: Brisbane
I dunno...
Latest of mankinds Starship boosters engine goes pop and it 'lands' at 1000kph.
Glenn goes BANG.
Anti gravity had better come around quick, as it's the only way I'm retiring on Mars.
Sitting on gazilliions of highly flammable liquid and praying that all the engines and pressure valves are working ok.
Like cars: Imagine an Alien saying "You mean you drive around with 50 liters of flammable liquid in a tank all the time with your wife and kids..?"
With me forgetting all my rocket technology science PHD/Masters; What's the difference in Falcon 9's tech, which is something I'd probably go up in (after a few beers mind you).
Latest of mankinds Starship boosters engine goes pop and it 'lands' at 1000kph.
Glenn goes BANG.
Anti gravity had better come around quick, as it's the only way I'm retiring on Mars.
Sitting on gazilliions of highly flammable liquid and praying that all the engines and pressure valves are working ok.
Like cars: Imagine an Alien saying "You mean you drive around with 50 liters of flammable liquid in a tank all the time with your wife and kids..?"
With me forgetting all my rocket technology science PHD/Masters; What's the difference in Falcon 9's tech, which is something I'd probably go up in (after a few beers mind you).
Ecce Homo! Loquitur...
Joined: Jul 2000
Aviation Qualifications: Spotter
Posts: 24,662
Likes: 7,348
From: Peripatetic
With me forgetting all my rocket technology science PHD/Masters; What's the difference in Falcon 9's tech
A proven 99.54% success rate…..
Joined: Feb 2002
Aviation Qualifications: AME
Posts: 4,182
Likes: 1,116
From: UK
Well said that man.
SPACE COAST ENCOURAGEMENT NOTICE — CITY OF MERRITT ISLAND
The City of Merritt Island would like to address the Blue Origin employees, contractors, engineers, technicians, fabricators, support staff, and everyone else still carrying the emotional weight of the recent test anomaly at Rocket Park.
We know this incident is still being talked about.
We know people are replaying it.
We know there are probably meetings, reviews, reports, questions, stress, and at least one conference room where the phrase “root cause analysis” has been said enough times to legally haunt the carpet.
But the City would like to say something clearly:
You should still be proud.
Aerospace is not easy.
Rockets are not normal machines.
They are controlled explosions being politely negotiated into useful behavior by math, materials, engineering, testing, pressure systems, fuel, timing, software, and human beings who are trying to do something profoundly difficult without letting physics embarrass everyone in public.
Sometimes physics wins a round.
That does not mean the mission failed.
It means the work continues.
OFFICIAL CLARIFICATION:
America’s space program has never been a clean, perfect, straight line of success.
It has been success, failure, correction, courage, redesign, heartbreak, discovery, and progress stacked on top of each other for generations.
Apollo 1 taught painful lessons.
Challenger taught painful lessons.
Columbia taught painful lessons.
Every major aerospace organization that has ever pushed boundaries has experienced failure, setbacks, test stand problems, launch failures, design flaws, structural issues, engine problems, and moments where something happened that absolutely was not in the brochure.
That is not unique to Blue Origin.
That is aerospace.
The difference between failure and progress is what you do after it happens.
CITY FINDINGS INCLUDE:
* one test anomaly
* one damaged building
* zero reported injuries
* hundreds of people likely feeling worse than they should
* several engineers already mentally rebuilding the entire system at 2 AM
* and Dave “The Signal” DeBary still insisting the rocket “became aware,” which the City has not confirmed at this time
IMPORTANT NOTE:
No reported injuries matters.
That matters a lot.
In a field where energy, pressure, heat, hardware, and risk all exist in the same room, people going home safe is not a footnote.
That is a win.
That means procedures worked somewhere.
That means distance, planning, safety protocols, and people doing their jobs still protected lives.
Buildings can be repaired.
Hardware can be rebuilt.
Data can be reviewed.
Designs can be improved.
But people going home is what matters most.
TO THE BLUE ORIGIN TEAM:
Do not let one bad test erase the work you are doing.
You are building systems that push the boundaries of human capability.
You are part of a long Space Coast tradition of people attempting the unreasonable, learning from the painful, and turning failure into the next version of success.
Every rocket, every test, every launch, every anomaly, every correction, and every lesson learned moves the work forward.
That is how this industry has always grown.
Not by pretending failure never happens.
By facing it, understanding it, fixing it, and coming back stronger.
The City of Merritt Island may joke.
We may call it an “energetic structural disagreement.”
We may allow Dave to yell near the bushes with a tinfoil hat.
But beneath all of that, we know this work matters.
The Space Coast was built by people who kept going after things went wrong.
So keep going.
Learn from it.
Be proud that no one was hurt.
Be proud that you are part of something difficult enough to fail at.
And be proud that even on a bad day, you are still helping push humanity forward.
The Mayor remains optimistic.
Gator Chief Ivey confirms that failure is only failure if nothing is learned from it, and any team that can humble a building without hurting anyone has clearly earned the right to regroup, rebuild, and try again.
— Office of the Mayor
City of Merritt Island
The City of Merritt Island would like to address the Blue Origin employees, contractors, engineers, technicians, fabricators, support staff, and everyone else still carrying the emotional weight of the recent test anomaly at Rocket Park.
We know this incident is still being talked about.
We know people are replaying it.
We know there are probably meetings, reviews, reports, questions, stress, and at least one conference room where the phrase “root cause analysis” has been said enough times to legally haunt the carpet.
But the City would like to say something clearly:
You should still be proud.
Aerospace is not easy.
Rockets are not normal machines.
They are controlled explosions being politely negotiated into useful behavior by math, materials, engineering, testing, pressure systems, fuel, timing, software, and human beings who are trying to do something profoundly difficult without letting physics embarrass everyone in public.
Sometimes physics wins a round.
That does not mean the mission failed.
It means the work continues.
OFFICIAL CLARIFICATION:
America’s space program has never been a clean, perfect, straight line of success.
It has been success, failure, correction, courage, redesign, heartbreak, discovery, and progress stacked on top of each other for generations.
Apollo 1 taught painful lessons.
Challenger taught painful lessons.
Columbia taught painful lessons.
Every major aerospace organization that has ever pushed boundaries has experienced failure, setbacks, test stand problems, launch failures, design flaws, structural issues, engine problems, and moments where something happened that absolutely was not in the brochure.
That is not unique to Blue Origin.
That is aerospace.
The difference between failure and progress is what you do after it happens.
CITY FINDINGS INCLUDE:
* one test anomaly
* one damaged building
* zero reported injuries
* hundreds of people likely feeling worse than they should
* several engineers already mentally rebuilding the entire system at 2 AM
* and Dave “The Signal” DeBary still insisting the rocket “became aware,” which the City has not confirmed at this time
IMPORTANT NOTE:
No reported injuries matters.
That matters a lot.
In a field where energy, pressure, heat, hardware, and risk all exist in the same room, people going home safe is not a footnote.
That is a win.
That means procedures worked somewhere.
That means distance, planning, safety protocols, and people doing their jobs still protected lives.
Buildings can be repaired.
Hardware can be rebuilt.
Data can be reviewed.
Designs can be improved.
But people going home is what matters most.
TO THE BLUE ORIGIN TEAM:
Do not let one bad test erase the work you are doing.
You are building systems that push the boundaries of human capability.
You are part of a long Space Coast tradition of people attempting the unreasonable, learning from the painful, and turning failure into the next version of success.
Every rocket, every test, every launch, every anomaly, every correction, and every lesson learned moves the work forward.
That is how this industry has always grown.
Not by pretending failure never happens.
By facing it, understanding it, fixing it, and coming back stronger.
The City of Merritt Island may joke.
We may call it an “energetic structural disagreement.”
We may allow Dave to yell near the bushes with a tinfoil hat.
But beneath all of that, we know this work matters.
The Space Coast was built by people who kept going after things went wrong.
So keep going.
Learn from it.
Be proud that no one was hurt.
Be proud that you are part of something difficult enough to fail at.
And be proud that even on a bad day, you are still helping push humanity forward.
The Mayor remains optimistic.
Gator Chief Ivey confirms that failure is only failure if nothing is learned from it, and any team that can humble a building without hurting anyone has clearly earned the right to regroup, rebuild, and try again.
— Office of the Mayor
City of Merritt Island
Ecce Homo! Loquitur...
Joined: Jul 2000
Aviation Qualifications: Spotter
Posts: 24,662
Likes: 7,348
From: Peripatetic
https://x.com/davill/status/2060760334869188846?s=20
We have regained some access to Launch Complex 36 and are actively investigating the hotfire anomaly. We will start clearing the pad soon and have a good rebuild plan in place. The booster and GS2s in the integration facility appear healthy from quick looks.
https://x.com/GewoonLukas_/status/20...146105208?s=20
These 2 images taken by SkySat satellites from Planet just days apart make for a nice before and after of LC-36. It also shows how part of the pad has collapsed into the flame bucket.
We have regained some access to Launch Complex 36 and are actively investigating the hotfire anomaly. We will start clearing the pad soon and have a good rebuild plan in place. The booster and GS2s in the integration facility appear healthy from quick looks.
https://x.com/GewoonLukas_/status/20...146105208?s=20
These 2 images taken by SkySat satellites from Planet just days apart make for a nice before and after of LC-36. It also shows how part of the pad has collapsed into the flame bucket.
Ecce Homo! Loquitur...
Joined: Jul 2000
Aviation Qualifications: Spotter
Posts: 24,662
Likes: 7,348
From: Peripatetic
..................
https://x.com/davill/status/2061655383610114124?s=20
ome LC-36 updates.
Now that we’ve had access to the pad and integration facility we can share a bit of good news. The propellant farm, oxygen, liquid hydrogen and LNG tanks are all in good shape. This is good luck because these are very long lead items. The water tower is also good. The big support tower is damaged, but it can be repaired in place rather than torn down and replaced.
The booster “Never Tell Me The Odds” and the three GS-2s that were onsite in the integration facility also look good.
I’ve seen some speculation that we might move directly to the 9x4 configuration, but we won’t do that. Rate manufacturing of 7x2 is going well, and we’re going to continue that at pace as planned and store the stages for use.
In addition, we had already been working for some time on eliminating our transporter-erector in favor of an alternative vertical conop, and we’ll now go directly to that; so we don’t need a new transporter-erector.
We will fly again before the end of this year.
Gradatim Ferociter.
ome LC-36 updates.
Now that we’ve had access to the pad and integration facility we can share a bit of good news. The propellant farm, oxygen, liquid hydrogen and LNG tanks are all in good shape. This is good luck because these are very long lead items. The water tower is also good. The big support tower is damaged, but it can be repaired in place rather than torn down and replaced.
The booster “Never Tell Me The Odds” and the three GS-2s that were onsite in the integration facility also look good.
I’ve seen some speculation that we might move directly to the 9x4 configuration, but we won’t do that. Rate manufacturing of 7x2 is going well, and we’re going to continue that at pace as planned and store the stages for use.
In addition, we had already been working for some time on eliminating our transporter-erector in favor of an alternative vertical conop, and we’ll now go directly to that; so we don’t need a new transporter-erector.
We will fly again before the end of this year.
Gradatim Ferociter.
Joined: Sep 2014
Aviation Qualifications: PPL
Posts: 282
Likes: 108
From: Germany
"We will fly again before the end of this year."
That's great, if to come true. Just read in a major German news outlet (Der Spiegel): "...launches could be postponed until 2028...".
https://www.spiegel.de/wissenschaft/...2-97bcaab01ade
So this (X.com) is the better news.
And props to the engineers who designed those survived facilities on/near_the pad 36, an the builders/technicians of course!
That's great, if to come true. Just read in a major German news outlet (Der Spiegel): "...launches could be postponed until 2028...".
https://www.spiegel.de/wissenschaft/...2-97bcaab01ade
So this (X.com) is the better news.
And props to the engineers who designed those survived facilities on/near_the pad 36, an the builders/technicians of course!
