Per CBS News. Incredible footage!

 

http://www.cbsnews.com/videos/rocket-bound-for-international-space-station-explodes/

Apparently these rockets are using "refurbished Russian engines" according to at least two reports I've watched. :Worried:

One hell of a fireball!

Wish I was there, nice fire, I could have got close for a warm & chuck some spuds in !

Wow! Thanks for the link

Apparently these rockets are using "refurbished Russian engines" according to at least two reports I've watched. :Worried:

 

Oh yeah, they can't hold a candle compared to the safety and reliability of 100% American-made Space Shuttle...

"When reporters asked Alan Shepard what he thought about as he sat atop the Redstone rocket [about to become the second person and first American in space], waiting for liftoff, he had replied, 'The fact that every part of this ship was built by the lowest bidder.' "

Oh yeah, they can't hold a candle compared to the safety and reliability of 100% American-made Space Shuttle...

Not sure what made you want to go there, but the ssme's never failed like that.

Not sure what made you want to go there, but the ssme's never failed like that.

 

In my opinion, with regard to space engineering and industry, russian components aren't _necessarily_ less valid than western counterparts, as he seemed to suggest. Russian space industry has certainly respectable history and capabilities. Space engineering is extremely critical, a single faulty O-ring or TPS tile could destroy a spacecraft, as we all know. For example, if I were an astronaut during the last 10 years, I would certainly have preferred to be launched in a Soyuz than in a Space Shuttle.

I'm sure Russian engineering and industry is top notch, but the point that people are taking from this accident is that the engines on the Antares are refurbished, once mothballed, decades old equipment, whose reason for being chosen had less to do with capability than availability and cost.

 

And as far as Soyuz vs Space Shuttle goes, a faulty valve or parachute can also doom a spacecraft...

Beat me to it. I saw some pretty wild footage of this. Can't imagine what it must have been like to be there. That boom (and probably a shockwave) would have certainly made me swallow my gum!!!

 

 

New report just out confirms that the launch company hit the "destruct" or terminate button as they got indicators the launch was flawed and the rocket would not make orbit. Wanted to make sure it did not stray into a populated area.  Wonder how they determined that so quickly.

The explosion as seen from a small plane flying nearby, Notice one of the passengers stating they could feel the shockwave. Wonder what the procedure is in a situation like that besides "Get the hell out of dodge"

 

The explosion as seen from a small plane flying nearby, Notice one of the passengers stating they could feel the shockwave. Wonder what the procedure is in a situation like that besides "Get the hell out of dodge"

 

Thanks for your recent post. That is the same video that was linked in my topic-starting post, but it appears that CBS has changed the video that plays from my original link. Wonder if some conflict arose between CBS and the person that shot the video.

I try never to link to videos on regular news sites (CNN, etc) because their video feeds are "unstable" and the exact same link can lead to different things as the news is updated.