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| On the morning of November 13, 2007, the Oracle flew its final flight. During 1st period the Oracle was prepared for launch with the intent of capturing footage of a second Alpha rocket being launched simultaneously. Unfortunately, the safety cap was forgotten and was left on the rod. The purpose of the safety cap is to keep the launcher key away from the launcher, preventing an accidental ignition source as well as any eye injury from the rod. The problem was that the launch key was not connected to the safety cap. The safety cap gave way under the rocket’s power and flew off but caused the rocket's body tube to crush. It wasn't apparent why the body tube crushed until the rocket's on-board video (shown above) was retrieved. The damage is shown below. It was a valuable lesson, and the rocket is being repaired for future use. In addition, if you look closely at the video you will notice the launch of an Alpha rocket just 3 seconds after the Oracle launch. | ||
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