- #71
.Scott
Science Advisor
Homework Helper
- 3,474
- 1,588
No stage 2 separation - The whole thing is tumbling - RUD.
If you were watching the SpaceX feed, "everyone" was that crowd of SpaceX employees in the flight control building. The SpaceX objective was to clear the tower (rebuilding it would take months) and collect enough data for the next try. They have additional rockets built and close to ready.berkeman said:That was weird when it was tumbling and it blew up and everybody was cheering...
Note that neither stage fell apart during those somewhat parapatetic final maneuvers. To my eye the first stage and then the starship destruction charges were required. The loss of five engines (including one pretty obvious RUD) upon ascent was concerning but impressive nonetheless. Huge.nsaspook said:Flipped 4 times, that's an impressive structural success.
Former Canadian astronaut Chris Hadfield discussing the flightStarship gave us quite a show during today’s first flight test of a fully integrated Starship and Super Heavy rocket from Starbase in Texas.
At 8:33 a.m. CT, Starship successfully lifted off from the orbital launch pad for the first time. The vehicle cleared the pad and beach as Starship climbed to an apogee of ~39 km over the Gulf of Mexico – the highest of any Starship to-date. The vehicle experienced multiple engines out during the flight test, lost altitude, and began to tumble. The flight termination system was commanded on both the booster and ship. As is standard procedure, the pad and surrounding area was cleared well in advance of the test, and we expect the road and beach near the pad to remain closed until tomorrow.
With a test like this, success comes from what we learn, and we learned a tremendous amount about the vehicle and ground systems today that will help us improve on future flights of Starship.
Thank you to our customers, Cameron County, and the wider community for the continued support and encouragement. And congratulations to the entire SpaceX team on an exciting first flight test of Starship!
I must be slow this evening..Scott said:Except for an area 4nm in diameter around Starbase itself
I'm still thinking it's nanometers, 'cause that's a better story.Tom.G said:I must be slow this evening.
I initially read that as 4nanometers - thought that couldn't be right - then settled on nautical miles.
That's a lot of Boeings blown to pieces!mfb said:6 engines are out - two at the top, one top right, two bottom right, and the left of the 3 center engines.
Each of these engines has enough thrust to fly two or even three Boeing 747.
I believe there was some criticism of the design of the launch pad. It seems they were right. I wonder how the repair/redesign will extend the next launch date.mfb said:The next ship/booster set might be ready soon but they'll probably have to upgrade the launch pad.
[bold] SpaceX launched concrete chunks far away. [/bold]
...[ scattered ] pulverized concrete up to 6.5 miles NorthWest of the launchpad and resulted in about 385 acrers of debris on SpaceX's facility and at nearby Boca Chica State Park...
...many large cocncrete chunks, stailesss-steel sheets, metal and other objects were "hurled thousands of feet away."...
...A 3.5-acre fire also started on Boca Chica State Park, south of the launchpad, the agency (U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service) said.
https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/tech...fe-reserve-and-locals-are-furious/ar-AA1auxQJBut the community living near the launch site has been dealing with fallout from the launch, in both senses of the word. The explosion essentially obliterated the launch pad, carving a massive crater and sending chunks of concrete, sheets of stainless steel and other debris flying into the ocean on Boca Chica Beach. A Dodge Caravan was smashed with wreckage, which the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service reported was scattered over 385 acres, causing a fire that burned 3.5 acres on Boca Chica State Park land.
Clouds of ash and particulates rained down on residents of Port Isabel, about six miles away, settling onto homes, cars, and streets, breaking several windows. It's not clear if the particulate matter is dangerous to breathe or touch, or if it will pollute the soil.
Sloppy and clumsy. Unfortunate.Astronuc said:Seems rather sloppy and unnecessary.
A bit of sand and dust falling down does not "devastate a town", nor do some chunks of concrete falling down "devastate a wildlife reserve". It's sand and concrete parts, they are not toxic. The headline is absurd.Astronuc said:Massive, exploded SpaceX rocket devastated a town and a wildlife reserve — and locals are furious
The sloppy part is on the side of the reporters trying to blow this story up more than the rocket.Astronuc said:Seems rather sloppy and unnecessary.
The maiden flight of the Saturn V (Apollo 4) also damaged the launch pad significantly and threw debris around. Here is a report, damage to the pad is described on page 3-15. Back then we just didn't have 2135 cameras inspecting every centimeter of the area and the internet to show these pictures to everyone within an hour. Back then news focused on the rocket.Astronuc said:but there is a 'right way' to launch a rocket, as has been demonstrated over the past 6+ decades, e.g., at Cape Canaveral, aka Kennedy Space Center.
Exactly because of that (that we know what should be expected, for 50+ years already ) why this was so gross.mfb said:The maiden flight of the Saturn V (Apollo 4) also damaged the launch pad significantly and threw debris around.
I would agree that the headlines are hyperbolic, which is unfortunate and disappointing.mfb said:No one was harmed, and no significant damage was found outside of SpaceX's property besides a few broken windows - and I haven't seen a confirmation that these refer to windows of building, not windows of cars parked close to the launch.
https://www.valleycentral.com/news/...idents-report-particles-falling-after-launch/PORT ISABEL, Texas (ValleyCentral) — Residents in Port Isabel are reporting small particles of debris are falling from the sky after this morning’s SpaceX launch at Boca Chica Beach.
Port Isabel Police Chief Robert Lopez said the particles “looked a lot like gunpowder.”
A caller who resides in Port Isabel told ValleyCentral everything in the city looks like it is covered in dust.
https://www.upi.com/Science_News/2023/04/21/SpaceX-starship-rains-debris-Port-isabel/1451682102059/Port Isabel spokeswoman Valerie Bates told The New York Times that most of the city was covered with a thick, granular sand that landed on everything.
"It was truly terrifying," said Sharon Almaguer. She was home with her 80-year-old mother when her brick house shook from the rocket explosion.
The Cameron County Emergency Management Division confirmed the debris was sand and soil from the SpaceX launch.
https://www.portisabelsouthpadre.co...tivity-debris-concerning-activists-officials/The Federal Aviation Administration said SpaceX violated its launch license by not ensuring “far field blast overpressure” was within regulation, Reuters reported, . . . .