The massive Starship rocket developed by SpaceX had an unexpected “rock tornado” during launch, multiple engines failed as it rose, and it somersaulted out of control during its brief inaugural flight more than a week ago.
The spacecraft, the most potent ever launched, is crucial to both NASA’s and SpaceX’s aspirations to send astronauts back to the moon by 2025 as part of the Artemis programme and to SpaceX’s intentions to send humans to Mars.
Before the rocket ever pushed off from the launch pad, three of the 33 engines on the Starship’s booster stage were turned off.
According to Musk, the rocket did not reach space, but he stated that the outcome was roughly what he had expected, and it exceeded his expectations slightly. He also mentioned that it was able to clear the pad with minimal damage to it. However, the launch resulted in the hurling of debris across a wide area and generated clouds of dust, which reached a small town miles away from the launch pad at the southern tip of Texas.
In the almost hour-long Twitter discussion, Musk answered abstruse technical questions and gave a detailed timeline of the mishap that occurred during the four-minute flight. He explained that the system shut down the engines because they were not healthy enough to bring them to full thrust, causing the loss of three engines and Starship to lean to the side during ascent. Musk said that they did not expect a lean, and it should have been going straight up.
During the flight, 27 seconds after launch, there was an issue with one of the engines, causing damage to several other nearby engines.. The rocket carried on to go forward, but 85 seconds into the flight it lost the capacity to direct its course by aiming its engine nozzles, and then things started to go overboard. The rocket began flying out of control at that point and kept going even after the termination command.
Musk also stated that it took too long to rupture the tanks of the flight termination system, which is intended to destroy an out-of-control rocket.
It was stated by Mr. Musk that he did not guarantee complete success on the second attempt and that he anticipated four or five more Starship launches this year. He further mentioned that there was an 80 percent likelihood of achieving orbit in the current year and almost a 100 percent chance of reaching orbit within the next 12 months, although he did not want to risk it.
He predicted that the following rocket and launchpad repairs will be finished in six to eight weeks. But before approving another Starship mission, the Federal Aviation Administration, which oversees rocket launches, must be happy with SpaceX’s modifications and advancements. The agency is currently looking into the circumstances surrounding the initial launch.
The following launch would try to achieve the objectives of the first mission, which were for the Starship spacecraft to safely separate from the launcher, travel to space, circle the majority of the world, and land in the waters off Hawaii.
Musk did not guarantee complete success on the second attempt. He predicted that this year will see another four or five Starship launches.
