https://x.com/Truthful_ast/status/1898155564670103896
Starship engine bay camera showing a missing vacuum Raptor engine
https://x.com/halcyonhypnotic/status/1898251889239617821
Now, I don’t know the validity of this message, it’s sent by the same guy who leaked the s34 aft section after the explosion picture, take it as you will.
First-hand: Starship S34 crash details.
Yesterday's post in the channel about the preliminary causes of the Flight 8 crash is confirmed for now. What else we managed to find out:
- Data indicates that the problem like on S33 during Flight 7 has repeated.
- Again, harmonic oscillations in the distribution of vacuum-insulated fuel lines for RVac (one of the innovations of V2 and the distribution for S34).
- This crash was more destructive than during Flight 7, the corrections to the distribution for S34 did not work or turned out to be almost worse.
- Another source leaked a frame from the engine bay after the TPA and RVac nozzle rupture, and one central Raptor engine.
- Problems with the rupture of methane lines in the oxygen tank only appear as the tank empties.
- When filled, liquid oxygen dampens the oscillations of the distributed lines, when the tank is empty, they increase.
- Harmonics cause a break in the lines in the lower part, where the main wiring for the RVac is located.
- Leaks also caused the engines and regenerative cooling to malfunction, which led to the explosion during the fire in the compartment.
- The updated nitrogen suppression and compartment purge system would not have been able to cope with such a volume of leakage.
The information below may change, but for now:
- Hot separation also aggravates the situation in the compartment.
- Not related to the flames from the Super Heavy during the booster turn.
- This is a fundamental miscalculation in the design of the Starship V2 and the engine section.
- The fuel lines, wiring for the engines and the power unit will be urgently redone.
- The fate of S35 and S36 is still unclear. Either revision or scrap.
- For the next ships, some processes may be paused in production until a decision on the design is made.
- The team was rushed with fixes for S34, hence the nervous start. There was no need to rush.
- The fixes will take much longer than 4-6 weeks.
- Comprehensive ground testing with long-term fire tests is needed.
