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Explosive situation
Sometimes, when you fill a small metal capsule with rocket fuel, it explodes.
That's what seems to have happened last weekend when SpaceX tried a static test of its Dragon 2 capsule. "The Crew Dragon capsule explodes," wrote American scientist. Internal business called a "big explosion". Quartz said it "exploded". There is even a grainy video of the test that seems to show a fireball.
But SpaceX? The company called this an "anomaly".
Bright language
You will never know what happened if you only read the statement prepared by SpaceX, which minimized the apparent explosion as much as possible.
Earlier in the day, SpaceX performed a series of engine tests on a Crew Dragon test vehicle on our test bench located in Landing Zone 1 in Cape Canaveral, Florida. The initial tests were successful, but the final test resulted in an anomaly on the test bench. The main reason we test is to ensure that our systems meet stringent safety standards and to detect such anomalies before the flight. Our teams study and work closely with our NASA partners. "
SpaceX is not the only space agency to use "anomaly" to describe a spacecraft glitch. NASA has already used this term to describe launch problems or communication problems with spacecraft. But we did not find an example where NASA said "anomaly" while it meant "explosion". In this respect, SpaceX is alone. When something explodes, NASA says it.
Perhaps the problem that led to an explosion was an "anomaly"; it would be confusing if we expected it. But the explosion itself? Call it anything but it is a bad service.
Keep it vague
Hey, we understand. Explosions of spacecraft evoke images of tragedy: death, waste of money, search canceled.
It is logical that the space technology leader avoids this connotation. But if SpaceX insists on triggering an explosion – which seems to have been documented on a video – an "anomaly", then who can say when the company will clarify things, whether for this test or for any future attempt?
READ MORE: Smoke seen for miles as SpaceX Crew Dragon suffers "an anomaly" at Cape Canaveral during engine test[[[[Florida today]
More about the explosion: Update: Vid seems to show an explosion of the SpaceX capsule during the test
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