Kerbal Space Program

As a note I have had this happen with clamps, I think if the ship is too close/in the ground when launched in the VAB. Also without any easy way of knowing the total weight(without mods) it becomes very difficult to tell what will and will not blow up, so if its truely intended you need to add a total weight indicator in VAB/SPH before its implimented, which should be added anyhow.

The explosion happens as a consequence of the vessel hitting the launchpad or runway as the physics engine loads up. The explosion itself is an intended feature of the new destructible buildings, but it is being unintentionally caused by the physics "lurch".

The "lurch" has been present for quite some time, and I understand to be a product of floating point rounding errors between the vessel and the reference body (Kerbin) or even the sudden onset of acceleration due to gravity. As Padishar rightly points out, this can be mitigated with addons that either suppress the initial damage, or make the vessel very stiff.

The exact mass that causes the explosions is proportional to the stiffness and distance of the craft from the pad or runway, and can be invoked with a few simple parts that are large enough and have enough unsecured mass. Conversely, adding more parts to make the structure stiffer can prevent it.

This feedback will be forwarded to the developers as it does affect gameplay especially during a career.

Incorrect post. Please ignore

0.90 has brought many changes, and has possibly fixed some of the issues that cause this behaviour.

Feedback on whether unplanned explosions are still happening in 0.90 are welcome.