rapid unscheduled disassembly

English

Noun

rapid unscheduled disassembly (countable and uncountable, plural rapid unscheduled disassemblies)

1. (engineering, euphemistic) Synonym of rapid unplanned disassembly
   • 2015 January 16, Alex Hern, “This is what a 'rapid unscheduled disassembly' looks like”, in The Guardian‎^[1]:

     Private spaceflight company SpaceX has released new pictures of its Falcon 9 rocket attempting to land on a floating platform in the Atlantic Ocean before undergoing what its chief executive, Elon Musk, euphemistically referred to as "RUD" – that’s "Rapid Unscheduled Disassembly". In other words, it blew up.

   • 2023 April 20, Daniel Victor, Kenneth Chang, “Starship Exploded, but SpaceX Had Reason to Pop Champagne Anyway”, in The New York Times‎^[2]:

     The four-minute flight ended in what the company called a "rapid unscheduled disassembly" — meaning it blew up. But there was much to learn from the flight, the latest step in SpaceX’s explode-as-you-learn approach.

   • 2023 November 18, Josh Dinner, “SpaceX Starship megarocket launches on 2nd-ever test flight, explodes in 'rapid unscheduled disassembly'”, in Space.com‎^[3], retrieved November 18, 2023:

     Shortly after stage separation, the rocket's massive Super Heavy booster exploded, with the Starship upper-stage vehicle itself detonating before reaching its target altitude in what SpaceX called a "rapid unscheduled disassembly."

Derived terms

• RUD (abbreviation)

See also

• energetic disassembly