SpaceX Starship test launch

[PapaScout]

I know rocket science is difficult, but it feels like we've made little progress in 50 years. This approach is tired and played out.

 

[edporch]

It Turns Out SpaceX Blew Up Starship on Purpose

SpaceX has revealed what caused its gigantic Starship spacecraft prototype to blow up during the company's inaugural orbital test launch today.

futurism.com

 

[Shadow01]

I’ve never seen people so happy - giddy - over such a catastrophe “failure”.

Kinda hard to comprehend to me.

It made it to 39KM and failed stage sep. and had to be terminated by the range officer. not bad for the first flight

 

[Shadow01]

My understanding was it was supposed to burn, separate, and the first stage flip and burn back for a soft water landing while Starship burned on for a single near complete orbit. The flip with Starship attached is clearly not intentional. It's behaving, hilariously, just like an unbalanced rocket in Kerbal Space Program.

The Starship upper stage is immensely heavy and stuffed with fuel. After most of the first stage propellent is burned off, it's like trying to balance a pencil on your fingertip... with a golf ball stuck to the eraser. You can gimbal the engines a little bit to correct, but if the stack and the thrust axis drift just a couple degrees it's as unrecoverable as that pencil tipping off your finger.

They held fire on the self destruct system for a long time and let it continue burning and tumbling. Going in circles, it probably didn't exit the general launch corridor, so they just let it run for data collection.

They had some sort of “belly flop” plan to aid in stage sep that didn’t work.

 

[Ark]

And some of their rational is they won't have any of these systems with mars and the moon. If your rocket needs those to launch, that means you need them on the first trip rather than after you've established something

The Starship vehicle itself launched and landed off a simple concrete pad.

Plus, the moon and Mars have no atmosphere and a much thinner atmosphere respectively, so overpressure and shock waves are much less of a problem with no medium to transmit them.

 

[Alamo]

And some of their rational is they won't have any of these systems with mars and the moon. If your rocket needs those to launch, that means you need them on the first trip rather than after you've established something

Yes, they won’t be launching the 33 engine booster from the moon or mars, just the 6 engine Starship, Which they’ve already launched from aearth w/o leaving a big hole.

 

[bashMOH]

I know rocket science is difficult, but it feels like we've made little progress in 50 years. This approach is tired and played out.

SpaceX has only been a company since 2002 and has successfully landed first stage boosters since 2016. They have a new approach to space, and it seems to be working so far. They for sure aren't perfect, but it's better, faster progress than other rocket makers.

The Starship vehicle itself launched and landed off a simple concrete pad.

Plus, the moon and Mars have no atmosphere and a much thinner atmosphere respectively, so overpressure and shock waves are much less of a problem with no medium to transmit them.

I don't know why those launches and landings slipped my mind. I'm still concerned about debris from moon/mars launches and landings, but I'd like to think the first few would be unmanned

 

[Ark]

I don't know why those launches and landings slipped my mind. I'm still concerned about debris from moon/mars launches and landings, but I'd like to think the first few would be unmanned

Starship has a ways to go before it's suitable for full manned use. Not being able to glide land is a major safety issue, as is lack of a launch escape system (which could double as a landing abort, at least on Earth). The engines don't seem reliable enough yet for how critical they are in landing.

Then again, look at the LEM. The ascent engine is a single mission critical component with no redundancy. It fails and you die slow or fast. Glide landings and parachutes aren't on the menu anywhere outside Earth atmosphere. Best get accustomed to betting your lives on a rocket engine.

 

[jwamplerusa]

OK, as an Apollo era child who was both a golden age sci-fi fan and a space / aviation nut, this is just beyond COOL! Musk has done what NASA should have 40 years ago. If I were king for a day I would shutter 50% plus of NASA and give the money to Musk. He'd have us on Mars by 2030.

The first time a Falcon heavy executed a dual booster landing I was ecstatic.

This Starship and Super Heavy are on a whole other level. Wait, and watch for the analysis. The simple fact the redundancy worked and the vehicle continued to boost with multiple engines out is an enormous increase in reliability of launch success.

I suspect the failure to stage may well turn out to be a simple software or hardware problem. The key point is the booster lit, cleared the tower, and reached the staging point. That was quite easily a 50% stretch mission success, with experimental hardware.

Think about how many Atlas and Titan rockets exploded on the pad without ever clearing the tower. Yes, this launch was a success on many levels.

 

[ditcherman]

OK, as an Apollo era child who was both a golden age sci-fi fan and a space / aviation nut, this is just beyond COOL! Musk has done what NASA should have 40 years ago. If I were king for a day I would shutter 50% plus of NASA and give the money to Musk. He'd have us on Mars by 2030.

The first time a Falcon heavy executed a dual booster landing I was ecstatic.

This Starship and Super Heavy are on a whole other level. Wait, and watch for the analysis. The simple fact the redundancy worked and the vehicle continued to boost with multiple engines out is an enormous increase in reliability of launch success.

I suspect the failure to stage may well turn out to be a simple software or hardware problem. The key point is the booster lit, cleared the tower, and reached the staging point. That was quite easily a 50% stretch mission success, with experimental hardware.

Think about how many Atlas and Titan rockets exploded on the pad without ever clearing the tower. Yes, this launch was a success on many levels.

Your post reminds me of a story my dad told;
He was born in '43 so it would have been '53 or so he was in the third grade, don't know what the discussion was but he told his teacher that someday we would put a man on the moon. The teacher not only scoffed, but actually contacted his parents and told them about it and said that he would have expected a better upbringing from that family.

Keep dreaming, people!

 

[actaeon277]

I seem to remember NASA had a FEW failures in it's history.

 

[Wanderer]

I've read some rumors that the initial flip the rocket performed near the apogee of the flight was actually the attempted staging maneuver, but the hydraulic stage separation mechanism failed due to damage inflicted by flying debris at liftoff and thus the two stages remained together while spinning out of control. In any case, pretty impressive that the complete rocket remained intact while spinning around end-over-end at supersonic velocities; most other rockets probably would have disintegrated. Confirmed that it only blew up due to the FTS explosives being intentionally triggered. Obviously SpaceX definitely needs to fix their launch pad infrastructure so the concrete doesn't get shredded by the booster thrust and send shrapnel flying everywhere (willing to bet this was one of the primary causes for the rocket's problems throughout the flight) but I'm sure they already have plenty of ideas in mind.

Attached pic is allegedly how the rocket was supposed to stage, which is pretty wild if true. Waiting eagerly for a more detailed report from SpaceX.

 

[Shadow01]

OK, as an Apollo era child who was both a golden age sci-fi fan and a space / aviation nut, this is just beyond COOL! Musk has done what NASA should have 40 years ago. If I were king for a day I would shutter 50% plus of NASA and give the money to Musk. He'd have us on Mars by 2030.

The first time a Falcon heavy executed a dual booster landing I was ecstatic.

This Starship and Super Heavy are on a whole other level. Wait, and watch for the analysis. The simple fact the redundancy worked and the vehicle continued to boost with multiple engines out is an enormous increase in reliability of launch success.

I suspect the failure to stage may well turn out to be a simple software or hardware problem. The key point is the booster lit, cleared the tower, and reached the staging point. That was quite easily a 50% stretch mission success, with experimental hardware.

Think about how many Atlas and Titan rockets exploded on the pad without ever clearing the tower. Yes, this launch was a success on many levels.

NASA has sunk their future on climate change and the woke have infiltrated to the top levels. Space flight is but a small portion of the agency they use visually to garner financial support.

 

[bashMOH]

I've read some rumors that the initial flip the rocket performed near the apogee of the flight was actually the attempted staging maneuver, but the hydraulic stage separation mechanism failed due to damage inflicted by flying debris at liftoff and thus the two stages remained together while spinning out of control. In any case, pretty impressive that the complete rocket remained intact while spinning around end-over-end at supersonic velocities; most other rockets probably would have disintegrated. Confirmed that it only blew up due to the FTS explosives being intentionally triggered. Obviously SpaceX definitely needs to fix their launch pad infrastructure so the concrete doesn't get shredded by the booster thrust and send shrapnel flying everywhere (willing to bet this was one of the primary causes for the rocket's problems throughout the flight) but I'm sure they already have plenty of ideas in mind.

Attached pic is allegedly how the rocket was supposed to stage, which is pretty wild if true. Waiting eagerly for a more detailed report from SpaceX.

That's what the SpaceX casters made it seem like, but I couldn't tell if they just expected staging that never happened, or if it was supposed to flip/rock before staging. I'm still on team failed staging

 

[Shadow01]

That's what the SpaceX casters made it seem like, but I couldn't tell if they just expected staging that never happened, or if it was supposed to flip/rock before staging. I'm still on team failed staging

After more reading I believe the “flip” was to act more like a “fling” to aid in the separation.

 

[GodFearinGunTotin]

I've always wanted to see a launch in person. All these years I never got the opportunity to go see the shuttle launch. Now a bucket list item to go watch a launch of one of these.

I got to see one shuttle launch. It was a cloudy day so I only got to see a few seconds of the actual launch. The public is so far away from the pad, you don’t see much but you feel it. That, I’ll never forget.

 

[smokingman]

NASA has sunk their future on climate change and the woke have infiltrated to the top levels. Space flight is but a small portion of the agency they use visually to garner financial support.

NASA is having trouble even fueling a rocket. This was a 4/13/2023 attempt for the first launch of a Vulcan set for May 4th.

Recent Explosion Means ULA's Big New Rocket Won't Launch Until Summer

Following a disturbing explosion that swept over NASA’s test facility in Alabama, United Launch Alliance (ULA) doesn’t expect its Vulcan rocket to fly until the summer.

www.yahoo.com

The Vulcan rocket (in development since 2014) has never actually had a launch. It has been pushed back for quite a few years now(at least 4 since originally set to launch in 2019,then 2020,then 2021,then 2022...now maybe in June or July of 2023). Vulcan's were supposed to replace Atlas rockets and the Delta IV's.
By comparison Starship has at least lifted off,in half the development/build time,with much higher payload capabilities.

 

[Alamo]

IFT-2 is going to be soon.

SpaceX completed their mishap investigation report in August, and the FAA just blessed it and closed it out. SpaceX identified 63 corrective actions, of which 57 needed to be completed before a new launch license could issued. All 57 were completed before the report was submitted (and I’m sure SpaceX was feeding all this to the FAA as it went along over the last five months). Six of the actions will be completed on future ships.

No word yet on if or when SpaceX has applied for their next launch license (actually, it’s a modification to the original license), but I bet it went in the same day or day after the FAA closed out the investigation.

The booster and starship are mated and standing on the launch platform down at Boca Chica. Elon has said it’s ready for launch but his tweets are some times a bit imprecise. I don’t know if he really means they just need to add fuel and push the button and up it goes, or that they still need to do a wet dress rehearsal and de-stack it to arm the flight termination system like last time. I’m hoping one of the upgrades to the flight termination system was being able to arm it without taking the spaceship apart.

I would love to be there when this thing launches. I’m gonna have to look into this. It’s about a 5 Hour drive from where I am to Boca Chica.

p.s. Since SpaceX has added a hot staging ring between the booster and the starship, the damn thing is even taller than the last one. So Elon has broken his own record for the world’s biggest rocket.

 

[jwamplerusa]

This just makes me giddy! I love that we have an American company exceeding Saturn V capability.

Have Spacesuit, Will Travel

 

[Ark]

IFT-2 is going to be soon.

SpaceX completed their mishap investigation report in August, and the FAA just blessed it and closed it out. SpaceX identified 63 corrective actions, of which 57 needed to be completed before a new launch license could issued. All 57 were completed before the report was submitted (and I’m sure SpaceX was feeding all this to the FAA as it went along over the last five months). Six of the actions will be completed on future ships.

No word yet on if or when SpaceX has applied for their next launch license (actually, it’s a modification to the original license), but I bet it went in the same day or day after the FAA closed out the investigation.

The booster and starship are mated and standing on the launch platform down at Boca Chica. Elon has said it’s ready for lunch but his tweets are some times a bit imprecise. I don’t know if he really means they just need to add fuel and push the button and up it goes, or that they still need to do a wet dress rehearsal and de-stack it to arm the flight termination system like last time. I’m hoping one of the upgrades to the flight termination system was being able to arm it without taking the spaceship apart.

I would love to be there when this thing launches. I’m gonna have to look into this. It’s about a 5 Hour drive from where I am to Boca Chica.

p.s. Since SpaceX has added a hot staging ring between the booster and the starship, the damn thing is even taller than the last one. So Elon has broken his own record for the world’s biggest rocket.

I'm honestly surprised Biden hasn't ordered the FAA to put the brakes on all things SpaceX. Lord knows they're pissy over Ukraine and Starlink, to say nothing of the seething resentment at getting Twitter taken away from them.

Did any of the corrective actions involve the launch pad and complex? My personal theory on the first stage engine failures was that they just got wrecked by overpressure waves and debris from firing into a flat cement pad (which was basically destroyed).