Originally Posted by 360view
I have read that the composite shell was 5 inches thick but in the pictures the broken edges look more like ‘eggshells’ at first glance.

If the center section had been all titanium what would have been the added cost, is a thought.
Divide that cost by five passengers.
Compare to vacation voyage price per paying passenger.
Compare to passenger net worth in $.


The pictures you saw IMO are akin to seeing the body sheet metal after the wreck of a NASACR stocker, ie they were only the cosmetic outer shell, not the structure.

I read the original design called for a 7" thick pressure vessel, but they reduced it to 6". Properly manufactured 96" diameter cylinder shaped CF will handle 6K psi all day long, but cyclical fatigue life with that loading is above my pay grade. I don't know how low temperature might under rate it, and I have no idea what safety factor is at play. The most problematic aspect is the proper connection/retention of the CF with the needed Titanium hard points in the design and the likely source that initiated the fatal failure.

The CF material choice was likely a huge initial cost savings in material and fabrication, and a weight savings vs Titanium.

Reality check, that half the population is smarter then 50% of the people and it's a constantly contested fact.