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Documented on Twitch and covered by several local reporters and photographers, an accident at SpaceX's Florida Space campus caused a minor fire that caused between $ 50,000 and $ 100,000 in damages.
According to information leaked by the Cocoa Fire Department after a quick reaction to the fire, it may be the second SpaceX fire at its Florida Starship facility in recent months, which could result in more $ 650,000 in damages. Indicator of an innovative development program on the edge of security, sustainability and efficiency, SpaceX – as described by the leaders of the company – is trying to get a new generation orbital, Starship, as soon as possible. / Super Heavy. These fires are a reminder that, especially for operations as complex as the production of orbital-class rockets, the rapid development of rockets is a major challenge.
"This afternoon, a small fire broke out at a SpaceX facility in Cocoa, Florida. The fire was contained in a van (shipping container) on site and extinguished thanks to the Cocoa Fire Department, which reacted in minutes. The fire has not made any injuries and the cause is under investigation. " – SpaceX, July 8
More importantly, just relying on a handful of Twitch flows that captured the fire, it was relegated to an on-site shipping container that also seemed to contain the fire. Everything inside the container was probably scrapped, but SpaceX's Florida Space Star segments probably escaped without a scratch. It's unclear what triggered the fire, but the combination of Florida's extreme heat and humidity, the high need for welding for steel welding, plasma cutting and other work Speed SpaceX's playful and space-based nature is an excellent start.
In a generic example, some packaging / construction or welding materials could have been ignited by a short circuit in the container. Whatever the cause, it is likely that human error is at the root of this error. In heavy industries, the most common failure modes are encountered by busy managers and they have to find ways (often to cut corners and / or lax security) to meet unrealistic deadlines with limited staffing and only as many hours a day. Whatever the case may be, the Starship prototype is safe and SpaceX hopes to learn from this minor incident and prevent it from happening again.
Simultaneously, SpaceX builds a similar, but different, prototype of a spacecraft, and operates a less-than-loyal Starhopper test article at its companion facility in Boca Chica, Texas. Any security-related knowledge gained in Florida will almost certainly be transmitted to Texas, theoretically preventing the same mode of failure from occurring in any SpaceX installation – not just the one that has been damaged. Each campus is technically competing to build the best prototype orbital spacecraft as quickly as possible, but information will inevitably be shared between teams if major breakthroughs or critical safety discoveries are made on the orbiting path.
In the end, the July 8 fire is only a minor setback on the way to the first flights of one or both of SpaceX's orbital prototypes, and should result in high-speed, high-speed tests. and suffered, as well as the first orbital launches to super-powerful in 2020. Difficulties are inevitable for a development program as complex and complex: all that matters is that these errors are learned and pre-empted at the same time. 39; future.
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