[AR] Re: Falcon 9 lifetime of 5 flights?
- From: Henry Spencer <hspencer@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- To: Arocket List <arocket@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- Date: Mon, 23 Mar 2020 18:28:06 -0400 (EDT)
On Mon, 23 Mar 2020, William Claybaugh wrote:
The United States Navy stands as an existence proof that it is possible
to submerge complex hardware in seawater for decades. Provided one can
afford the maintenance.
Yep. Paul Breed, who worked as an aviation mechanic in Alaska in his
younger days, once said that 80% of the maintenance load on salt-water
floatplanes was corrosion issues. For a vehicle designed for it, yeah,
it's feasible. But the cost is high, and best avoided if possible.
For a vehicle *not* carefully designed for it by people who understand
salt water, I'd bet money that it wouldn't work, not for long.
Henry
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