Using StarLink as well as the first step in a mission to Mars. This is the largest rocket ever launched and has a tremendous amount of risk associated with it.
Massive SpaceX Launch, live feed
- Thread starter Obliviax
- Start date
Yea they were doing well until it exploded. And that's okay as the whole point of this was a test of the launch vehicle. I watched the feed and was surprised though that they planned a "flip" that far up in order to separate and propel the next stage. It was during/after this flip that everything went out of control. Anyone know why they do the flip and don't do a normal separation with the next stage continuing on at the current trajectory?
Edit: Nevermind - the flip was supposed to happen after Starship separated from Super Heavy as part of Super Heavy's landing plan.
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Not exactly successful, the stages didn't separate as planned and it blew up (or was blown up?).
Launched well but didn’t separate for second stage, Blew up over the Gulf of Mexico
That is awesome. The team is putting a happy face on this ("learned a lot", "better best practices) but is really disappointed. Having said that, they went in saying this was super risky for several reasons. Here is a video, you can hear the cheers turn to growns from the people attending.
What a waste of dwindling resources. We will have long destroyed this planet before any hope of meaningful space travel is realistic. There needs to be a huge step up in technology from where we are today. Something quantum or nuclear. This combustion bullshit is dumb.
SpaceX is privately funded.
One note, as I understand it, there is a lot of potential value in being able to create things in zero gravity. So there may be great value short of going to Mars.
SpaceX raising $750 million at a $137 billion valuation, investors include Andreessen-Horowitz
Last year, SpaceX achieved several new milestones but faced further delays to its Starship program.
Wandering Spectator
Well-Known Member
It didn't blow up. It was a "rapid unscheduled disassembly," as they called it. 😀 Don't mean to laugh, but you have to admit, that's a very unique way to describe it.
Goes back to the saying that you never fail; you just learn how not to do it.
Great video. Lots of damage. Surprised it wasn’t better hardened considering how many times the engines were tested.
Also surprised how many total rockets they have launched and one booster has done fifteen missions.🚀
Great video. Lots of damage. Surprised it wasn’t better hardened considering how many times the engines were tested.
They only did one static fire on the pad and the engines were only at 50%. There was quite a bit of concrete eroded away during the static fire test. They guesstimated that the launch at 90% throttle would just erode a bit more of it away and was worth the risk to not wait for the pad improvements. Instead of just eroding a bit more of the concrete it looks like the initial exhaust from the engines at launch shattered the concrete. Then the chunks of concrete were launched all over the place and the "digging" commenced.
The electric cars are an offset for the booster firing. LOL
Planting a billion trees would be cheaper, more effective, and better looking.
At full thrust that rocket burns nearly 40,000 lbs of liquid oxygen and methane per second during takeoff.
I don't disagree - but at the current moment starship isn't capable of anything productive. Really hope it gets there though.
