Exclusive: Sealaunch Odyssey Returns Home
Published by Joel February 24th, 2007 in Gadgets. Share ThisA couple of weeks ago a rocket exploded on the pad at the Sealaunch facility in the Pacific. I wrote a short overview for Popular Mechanics, but wasn’t able to secure the one thing I really wanted: pictures of the Odyssey launch platform after the explosion. Sealaunch told me they would likely never release images of the post-incident Odyssey launch platform.
A generous person who would like to remain anonymous happened to catch the Odyssey as it made its way back to the California coast to be inspected and cleaned up for future duty. Considering the wicked explosion in which it was enveloped, it’s remarkably intact. A hanger door appears to have been knocked off its hinges and the entire thing is covered in soot, but it wouldn’t surprise me if the Odyssey lives to launch another rocket.
Sealaunch Odyssey Returns (Full-sized images) [Flickr]
where can i get a flickr plug-in type deal thing like that? i love it!
I guess Sea Launch was pulling your leg about not releasing photos. There have been photos of the post-explosion Odyssey on the XM Radio fan site for three weeks. See:
http://www.xmfan.com/viewtopic.php?t=76136&postdays=0&postorder=asc&highlight=sea+launch&start=30
Explosions can look incredible without causing a lot of damage. There’s actually a very small radius of destruction from a rocket explosion. The fireball is spectacular, but brief as the fuel combusts.
Rocket explosions are often confused with a bomb blast, or detonation, where combustion happens very quickly and causes much more of a shock wave and the accompanying destruction.
One Delta II blew up over the Cape in 1997, and the satellite stayed intact, broadcasting data until it hit the ground.
Cases of oil rigs sinking usually have more to do with weather or rough seas combined with mechanical failure.
Chuck: That’s interesting. I didn’t think to check when I got these pictures in if Sea Launch had decided to release some of their own. When I spoke to them the day after the explosion, they were still adamant about not showing anything, but I guess they realized it’s only to their benefit to show that the Odyssey is pretty much fine.