SpaceX's first Starship, which has just completed an incredible test flight, exploded. Today (April 20), a fully loaded Starship took off for the first time and ended with a terrifying explosion over Texas.
The most powerful rocket ever built put on a big show during its first space launch.
SpaceX launched the first integrated Starship rocket from the coastal Starbase facility on Boca Chica Beach on the Gulf Coast of South Texas at 20:9 a.m. EDT 33 GMT; 1333:8 a.m. TX today (April 33).
The largest and most powerful rocket ever built, the 394 feet (120 meters) tall Starship rose from Starbase's orbital launch pad on a pillar of flame generated by 33 first-stage Raptor engines. Despite its massive size, the Starship continued to climb, its gleaming stainless steel hull lit up by the Texas morning sun.
SpaceX will launch its first full Starship from Starbase in South Texas on April 20, 2023.
However, the rise was short-lived. About three minutes after takeoff, the 165-foot (50 m) tall Starship upper tier was supposed to leave the Super Heavy first tier, but that never happened.
Just four minutes after launch, two stacks of vehicles still connected exploded, or, as SpaceX describes it, had an "unplanned rapid disassembly."
But staff at SpaceX's Hawthorne, California headquarters to witness the launch gave them thumbs-down as they wildly applauded the success of Starship's first launch. According to information from SpaceX's launch webcast, the giant vehicle's highest altitude was about 24 miles (39 kilometers).
During the live broadcast, SpaceX's Kate Tice commented, "It's unbelievable to get this far." “After crossing the tower, everything else was the icing on the cake.”
This was SpaceX's second attempt to launch Starship; The first trial on April 17 was canceled due to a frozen valve.
In today's flight plan, it was stated that the Super Heavy would return to Earth in the Gulf of Mexico in about eight minutes. Meanwhile, he would power up his upper stage six Raptor and travel halfway around our world before reaching the final frontier.
The plan was to launch the Starship to a maximum altitude of 145 miles (233 km), crash it to Earth for test fire reentry, and make a hard landing 90 minutes later in the Pacific Ocean, not far from the Hawaiian island of Kauai.
But SpaceX didn't expect everything to go as planned because Starship was much more daring and complex than most launchers, and new rockets often fail on their first test flights. (There are 33 first-stage engines, after all, and are about 400 feet high.) Instead, company executives stressed that today is all about gathering information and responding effectively no matter the outcome.
But SpaceX didn't expect everything to go as planned because Starship was much more daring and complex than most launchers, and new rockets often fail on their first test flights. (There are 33 first-stage engines, after all, and are about 400 feet high.) Instead, company executives stressed that today is all about gathering information and responding effectively no matter the outcome.
Source: Space.com
📩 20/04/2023 18:02