Space-X to try again

[Wad Cutter]

SpaceX to Try Bold Rocket Landing Again Sunday 6/28/215
SpaceX to Try Bold Rocket Landing Again Sunday: Watch Live

[Paper Kosmonaut]

Well, that sadly and prematurely ended in a RUD...
Per ardua ad astra, SpaceX. Keep up the good work.

[richkat]

BOOOOOMMMMM.....Rich

[Paper Kosmonaut]

Well, not really BOOOOM, exactly. There was a rupture of the second stage due to overpressure. The oxygen just escaped through it while the stage broke up and it all caused a big vapour ball. No fire anywhere, actually.
Dragon appeared to have fallen off and back to earth, although I haven't heard, read or seen any reports on chute deployment.
Either the RSO or the onboard FTS must have triggered the RUD. I think it will turn out the FTS did it. The First stage however behaved perfectly. The problem really was stage 2. Presumably a clogged valve so the pressure in the tanks got too high...

(Oh those abbreviations.. Wonderful. I also have to look them up from time to time.)
RUD - Rapid Unscheduled Deconstruction. What an euphemism. Great.
RSO - Range Safety Officer
FTS - Flight Termination System

[Wad Cutter]

Uncrewed SpaceX Falcon 9 Rocket Explodes After Launch
SpaceX: Falcon 9 explodes after takeoff.

[Mechanic]

Sucks.

Got up early to watch the launch, weather was perfect, felt like they were going to nail the landing! At first I thought it just staged. . . then all the debris.

[N96HBK]

Hhhmmmmm....but luckily it wasn't as bad as the Delta II, that one was.....terrible.....SpaceX is an unmanned spacecraft isn't it?

[Paper Kosmonaut]

Originally Posted by N96HBK

Hhhmmmmm....but luckily it wasn't as bad as the Delta II, that one was.....terrible.....SpaceX is an unmanned spacecraft isn't it?

Yes. Spacex' Dragon freight capsule is unmanned. It was supposed to deliver cargo to the ISS this time. On some flights SpaceX uses its falcon 9 1.2 rockets to practice first stage return flights to Earth for future re-use of the stage. (it costs as much as a 747 to launch and lose such a rocket, so you'd better save it and re-use it) Three tries up 'til now were partially successful and this one unfortunately ended high up in the sky in a vapour ball of liquid oxygen and kerosene.
SpaceX is working on a manned capsule for 7 crew members to transport people to the ISS and eventually even further away (Mars). This capsule has of course a good escape system to prevent casualties in case of a RUD.
I am afraid the Dragon capsule at CRS7 didn't make it.
It carried a new docking adapter for universal use, to be put over the docking collars the shuttle used. It also had a new space suit on board and lots of scientific equipment.
Astronauts on board the ISS won't be in acute danger; in early July a new Progress cargo ship will be sent to the station.

And to make things clear: spaceflight ISN'T routine. It never was, it won't be for a very long time to come. It is and will remain dangerous. Volatile supercooled fuels are bound to expand and clog a vent now and again. That makes a fuel tank rupture quite easily. Chemical loads of fuel will always be explosive and all mechanical parts can fail. Accidents will happen and sacrifices will keep being made.

That specific Delta you describe was the january 1997 GPSII satellite launch, I presume. It looked and was spectacular indeed. The small solids all exploded and that gave a huge fireball, together with all the fuel in the first stage. That and the fact it happened really low over the launch site caused lots of damage and fire. Luckily the fuel was non-toxic. Now, the Titan launcher was fueled with hypergolics. stuff that ignites the second the two components are brought together. Poisonous and corrosive You wouldn't want that happening over your head. Boom. Or this Proton, with similar hypergolic fuels.

Look at the past, there were dozens, no, hundreds of failed spaceflight attempts, with or without live stock on board. It just is a coincidence it happened a couple of times in a row with several attempts from several countries. Rockets are big columns of fuel inside metal walls thin as a beer can. Most of the time it goes fine. Sometimes it doesn't..

SpaceX will test its stuff and will continue to fly. Hopefully Orbital/ATK will resume flights soon, too. NASA absolutely needs those commercial guys a lot.