Why Chinese Rockets Drop White Fragments at Launch, But SpaceX Doesn't

Описание: Why Chinese Rockets Drop White Fragments at Launch, But SpaceX Doesn't
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#spacezone #space #spacex #starship
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Why Chinese Rockets Drop White Fragments at Launch, But SpaceX Doesn't
When China’s rocket was going up, we saw a bunch of white stuff falling down. At first, many people thought this would be just like what happens with some U.S. rockets, such as the Saturn V. But apparently, that’s not the case. So what is that white stuff, and should the Chinese be concerned?
Before we get to what this is, let’s first look at what’s falling off U.S. rockets. Generally, it’s ice.
Most rockets carry large amounts of liquid oxygen, and some also use other very cold liquids like hydrogen, methane, or even kerosene.
Why Chinese Rockets Drop White Fragments at Launch, But SpaceX Doesn't.
They would only grow so thick before helping keep the tanks cold prior to launch. As the rocket sits on the launch pad, humidity in the air condenses on the outside of the vehicle and freezes. You’ll often see white frost building up along the rocket’s skin. When fully fueled, the Saturn V would quickly become covered in sheets of ice—like a freezer that badly needs defrosting. And just like that, freezer ice, or the ice that forms on a frozen lake, trapped a lot of air and acted as natural insulation.
When the engines ignite, there’s a lot of vibration and noise (which is really vibration in the air). That shaking knocks the ice and frost loose, and it cascades off the sides of the rocket.
Why Chinese Rockets Drop White Fragments at Launch, But SpaceX Doesn't.
I’ve never seen an official estimate, but a quick back-of-the-envelope calculation suggests it was at least a couple of hundred pounds (50–100 kg) of rock-hard ice falling down the side of the booster. But there was little for it to hit other than the aluminum tail fins, and it didn’t have time to get moving fast enough to cause any real damage. It just didn’t matter, and it became a characteristic part of every launch.
So most of the time, this is harmless, since there’s nothing directly below that could be damaged. But sometimes it isn’t harmless at all—and that can be very dangerous, which I’ll get to later.