Summary
Ten years ago today, a Falcon 9 rocket took off from Florida, something strange happened. As the rocket lifted off, a fountain of dirty water splashed upward alongside the vehicle. SpaceX founder Elon Musk was asked about the incident during a news conference. A small leak of liquid oxygen was discovered in the ground systems used to fuel the Falcon 9 rocket. A large enough leak could create a pocket of concentrated oxygen and explode during engine ignition. Another concern was oxygen leaking onto adjacent pipes, which could crack pressurized lines and lead to bad outcomes. The FireX system was activated hours before liftoff. It created a giant plume of dirty, soot-filled water, like the Bellagio fountain. A photo of the CRS-3 launch just a moment after liftoff showing the dirty water plume. The image below, taken by Walter Scriptunas II, offers a great view of the dirty plume near its peak.
