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ATLAS AGENA ROCKET DEPRESSURIZES ON PAD, COLLAPSES AND TEARS ITSELF TO PIECES

What You Haven't Seen · 269.1K views · 2017-11-24 · 1:18

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Overview

A one-minute clip of an Atlas Agena rocket losing pressure on the pad and collapsing. The Atlas relied on tank pressurization for structural integrity, so a simple failure tore it apart.

On Hacker News

Commenters cite it as vivid proof that pressure-stabilized rocket tanks can fail catastrophically when pressure is lost.

Discussed on HN; no positive recommendation is recorded in this export · HN mentions 2020–2026

Topics

Space exploration & spaceflightMechanical & precision engineering
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atlasrocketpressure stabilizedfailureagena

What people said

oconnor663 · 2026-05 · Reference

The vehicle is designed to hold all that fuel, plus whatever payload it carries on top, but it's not designed to have heavy loads attached to it in any other way. Rockets are so intensely optimized for weight that sometimes they're barely strong enough to stand upright if you fuel them the wrong way: [VIDEO] .

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icegreentea2 · 2024-05 · Reference

Yes, the Centaur upper stage was and still is using balloon tanks. I think this is the failure you're referring to: [VIDEO] And here's a picture from ULA/Tony Bruno showing a Centaur tank in their factory, being supported by a rig: [LINK]

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mannykannot · 2022-06 · Reference

I think it is implied in the article that only the motor is massive enough to excavate a crater. The similarity in size of the craters suggests they were created by objects of similar mass. At least one early rocket design (Atlas) had fuel tanks so insubstantial that they had to be pressurized until they were loaded with fuel on the pad, and a loss of pressure could be expensive... [VIDEO]

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Video by What You Haven't Seen, played through YouTube.

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