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[deleted] t1_ivufb69 wrote

Reply to comment by kgm2s-2 in Kennedy Space Center launch pad tower records 100 mph gust during Hurricane Nicole by yourlocalFSDO

What drives this requirement? I’d assume ability to remain standing, which it still is so if my assumption is correct they lucked out

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yourlocalFSDO OP t1_ivul7rr wrote

Wind loading on the rocket is much different than the force it's designed to take in flight. It's possible to have structural damage to the rocket if the wind loading gets too high. It doesn't have to fall over for things to crack or yield

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[deleted] t1_ivunpjm wrote

Yeah I understand axial loads are going to be higher than radial during flight. Are you saying you don’t know what drives it or it is wind loading?

If it is wind loading I can’t imagine cracks forming as much as minor waviness of the skin panels that would produce significant disturbances during flight.

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