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SpaceX calls their explosions “rapid unscheduled disassemblies,” which I think is intended as a joke, a parody of corporate euphemisms (while still trying to deflect attention from the danger). It reminds me of the language used by manufacturers of certain types of light bulbs. When their products explode, they call it a “nonpassive failure.” And they’re not trying to be funny.
@drdrang NASA started it by calling the Challenger explosion “a major malfunction” in a very understated tone of voice.
@drdrang I think it’s ceased to be funny, at least to me.
@drdrang It’s actually a term of (wry) art in the aerospace engineering community dating back to the 1950s or so. Some have credited Kerbal Space Program and YouTubers playing it with bringing it back, but I tend to doubt that’s how it got to SpaceX.
@drdrang t is correctly called massive waste of energy, + pollution, contamination and danger to air, water, humans and all life on land and in the ocean.
@drdrang I think that sense of humor has always been there with the space program, at least as far back as John Clark's "Ignition," the funniest and most terrifying book I've ever read about all the horrible things that can go wrong with liquid propulsion: https://archive.org/details/ignition_201612
For instance, it's where I learned how quickly HF will turn a person into goop if there's a "nonpassive failure" of its container. You'd really like this book if you haven't already read it, and I feel fairly confident in saying that.