On this week of anniversaries of space disasters, space historian Dwayne Day writes that we should display, rather than hide, the results of past tragedies, and allow not only NASA to learn from them, but the public as well. I agree.

> show the testing of the experimental DC-X rocket that was flown successfully
> numerous times before a relatively simple failure of a landing gear caused
> the vehicle to topple over and burn

DC-X did not burn because of "a relatively simple failure of a landing gear." The failure of the landing gear caused DC-X to tip over. That alone is not sufficient to cause a fire.

What caused the fire was the rupture of the new LOX tank, due to a manufacturing flaw. The hydrogen tank, which did not have manufacturing flaws, did not rupture on impact. If you watch the complete tape, you will see a secondary fireball when the hydrogen tank finally burns through. About a minute into the fire, if I recall. That's when the hydrogen tank finally burned through.

> Whatever happened to the DC-X wreckage? Does any of it still exist?

Yes. Tim Pickens bought it.

If nothing else, Blue Origin's vehicle seems less prone to that particular failure mode. Weebles (still) wobble, but they don't fall down...