SpaceX fired a new rocket at an altitude of around 40,000 miles on Wednesday. It was a test that seemed promising until the very last moment.
Starship project Serial Number 8 (SN8) effortlessly launched into the skies over SpaceX's Boca Chica, Texas facility. But the missile, after soaring for almost seven minutes, detonated on contact when it tried to land. As it was a research article, the prototype had no crew onboard. In the hours before the flight, SpaceX had cleared the launch facility of individuals.
Starship SN8 is made of stainless steel, with the samples reflecting the early models of the rocket revealed last year by CEO Elon Musk. The corporation is designing Starships with the goal of launching freight and as many as 100 people at a time on flights to the Moon and Mars.
The corporation is designing and evaluating the prototypes of the Starship at its rising Boca Chica factory. The facility is situated on the Gulf of Mexico line, approximately 20 miles east of the Texas town of Brownsville on the border with Mexico.
Musk immediately expressed his appreciation for the overall outcome of the trip, including the explosive conclusion to the test. Overall, in the company's Starship growth, the flight represented a significant move forward.
"Successful ascent, switchover to header tanks & precise flap control to landing point!" Musk said in a tweet.
Elon Musk Explains Cause
The spaceship has one out of three odds to land safely, according to Elon Musk's Twitter account (@elonmusk), and the narrow gap was correct for the CEO's forecast. In addition, owing to the difficulty of its flight, manoeuvre, and the popular "bellyflop" landing that its controls sought, SpaceX considers this a victory.
Fuel header tank pressure was low during landing burn, causing touchdown velocity to be high & RUD, but we got all the data we needed! Congrats SpaceX team hell yeah!!
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) December 9, 2020
On its second test flight attempt, the SN8 Starship demonstrated a lot of promise, leaving the CEO enthusiastic and claiming the business is already coming to Mars. The numerous dynamic processes in flying the SN8 were all a success, including the turn of the header tanks and the Starship's flap control.
Musk had assigned the rocket low chances of full completion on the first attempt, given the various objectives SpaceX was aiming to accomplish with the test.
In the announcement on its website prior to the departure, SpaceX similarly warned that even an accident or explosion was not inherently a disaster for this flight.
Was it still a success?
Since SpaceX successfully deployed its first astronaut mission in May, Musk has centered the company's resources on the Starship. He calls Starship the highest goal of the organization, announcing in an email received by CNBC earlier this year that the production program would intensify "dramatically and immediately."
Last year Musk claimed the Starship could theoretically travel people in 2020, although he's since admitted that the rocket already has several achievements, like "hundreds of missions," to go before that happens.
To date, 10 Starship designs have been developed by SpaceX, with the company claiming that Starship SN9 is almost ready for production. At its Boca Chica plant, SpaceX now has two active test stands, "for quick development testing."
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