SpaceX's Starship just had amazing firsts for spaceflight | Mashable.
SpaceX's Starship just had amazing firsts for spaceflight
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| SpaceX's Starship flies through space on its third test flight on March 14, 2024. Credit: SpaceX / X.com screenshot |
SpaceX's colossal Starship reached orbital speed for the first time as well as demonstrated a first step toward being able to refuel in space, before the company ultimately lost the ship on Thursday.
No injuries or property damages were immediately known.
Starship, a nearly 400-foot-tall, super-heavy-lift rocket and spacecraft, took off at about 8:25 a.m. CT from SpaceX's private launchpad in South Texas. For its third flight, the rocket survived longer and flew much farther than it did in November, showing significant hardware improvements over the past four months.
SpaceX's nearly complete one-hour test is a boon for a company that has been pummeled with public scrutiny for its previous two test explosions. Its executives have insisted that each test leads to marked incremental progress. Building fast, breaking things, and learning from mistakes are all part of SpaceX's development strategy — a departure from NASA's slow and methodical approach that Americans are accustomed to observing.
"I need a moment to pick my jaw up from the floor," said Kate Tice, SpaceX's quality systems engineering manager, during a live broadcast on X, the social platform acquired by SpaceX's billionaire founder Elon Musk.
During the flight test on March 14, aka Pi Day to math whizzes, flight controllers oversaw the transfer of several tons of liquid oxygen between tanks inside Starship. The demonstration was a preliminary test for in-space fuel transfers. SpaceX representatives said they'll have to review flight data to determine how successful they were in moving fuel during that operation.
NASA is depending on Musk's rocket company to ferry astronauts to the lunar surface for the Artemis III and IV moon missions under a $4.2 billion contract. To do that, SpaceX first has to master refueling a Starship in low-Earth orbit, after it has already blasted off the planet. The tricky concept is known as "cryogenic propellant transfer" — something never done before in microgravity.
Starship runs on 10 million pounds of liquid methane and oxygen, but the rocket consumes much of its fuel just to escape Earth's gravity. To make the rest of the quarter-million-mile journey to the moon, Starship would need to top off its tank. The plan is for SpaceX to send up tanker versions of Starship into low-Earth orbit, establishing a space fueling depot. A passenger version of Starship would dock at a tanker, fill up, and then complete the rest of the moonbound flight.
NASA and commercial partners are interested in orbital fuel stations because they could allow spacecraft to travel longer and farther into the solar system. Future missions could use ice on the moon to make propellant by splitting water molecules into hydrogen and oxygen. If engineers can figure out how to store super-cold liquids in space, whether they are launched from Earth or produced somewhere else, it could make a long-term stay on the moon possible and even support distant missions to Mars.
Despite delays in Starship's timeline, NASA leaders appeared thrilled with the rocket and spacecraft on Thursday.
"Congrats to @SpaceX on a successful test flight!" said NASA administrator Bill Nelson on X. "Starship has soared into the heavens. Together, we are making great strides through Artemis to return humanity to the Moon—then look onward to Mars."
Along with the mini propellant transfer demo, Starship showed that it could fully ignite all of the booster engines and separate the booster from the upper stage while lit, though the booster broke up over the Gulf of Mexico before it could safely splashdown.
But all six raptor engines on the ship ignited and shut down as planned for the second engine cut off. Flight controllers also saw Starship successfully open the doors that will allow satellites to be released in space.
The Starship test did however end prematurely before it could achieve a safe splashdown in the water, said Dan Huot, a SpaceX commentator, during the broadcast. The team didn't immediately know what happened to the ship before it could attempt the landing, but video feeds of the ship right before losing the transmission showed it was heating up considerably as it descended, blanketed with plasma due to its high speed.
The steep trajectory over the Indian Ocean was a change from plans for the first two flights, which set out to reach orbit and splashdown off the Hawaiian coast. SpaceX selected the alternative path to attempt new maneuvers in space, such as engine burns, without compromising public safety, according to the company.
Following the test, the Federal Aviation Administration will investigate the anomaly that resulted in the spacecraft's destruction. It will then identify corrections SpaceX must make before it can fly Starship again.
Despite the loss, SpaceX's team seemed thrilled with the rocket and spacecraft's journey.
"After a test like today," said Huot, holding a pie in honor of Pi Day, "I think we all deserve some pie."
Topics SpaceX
It was great until….... it blew up!
ReplyDeleteWhat about the space flights in the 60's and 70's? And we are excited about this? I thought getting to the moon was a big deal. This makes no sense.
ReplyDeleteNot worth the read with all the pop up garbage 👎
ReplyDeleteFirst time for SpaceX. Not the first time for mankind. SpaceX claims belittle the progress made.
ReplyDeleteBesides. This progress was just before they lost the space craft. Why don’t they take notes from history books or a How To book. It’s been done before.
Hay , I am old school , in my day getting to the moon and back was success , but these days getting to orbit and blowing up is a success , What future have we in the next round ? Stop eating fast food
ReplyDeleteRead the article...
DeleteNO need , Concorde, , man on the moon ,better fashion music , cars shape they can't do anything we did in the 60's , virtual reality and the internet is all this lot have achieved it's all about money
Deletehttps://giphy.com/gifs/youngertv-younger-tv-forever-jPHikzNABMnB4lB5mS
DeleteCrazy how we're still using rockets to launch spaceships 😂😂
ReplyDeleteWhat good is this doing while the homeless on earth just keep stacking up.
ReplyDeleteit allows the elites to reflect upon their own immortality
Deleteso no good at all.
Deletewhat? Your comment?
Deletemake some sense honey.
Deletewhat good are you doing? how many homeless are living with you?
DeleteNothing relevant to say huh boomer?
Deletetrue to your name...
DeleteThat’s a BIG mo fo rocket
ReplyDelete🤞❤
ReplyDeleteIt’s still not going to penetrate the firmament aka Van Allen radiation belt.
ReplyDeleteExplain the economics of space travel what are we exporting that can possibly be worth the expense of launching it into space? And when we get out there with this Precious Cargo who's going to buy it? Where is the profit?
ReplyDeleteif that concept seems asinine to you that's because it is.
DeleteThe 1% would rather spend their money trying to make space habitable instead of fixing the diet ball we all live on (which, don't be fooled, could be done practically overnight with the obscene amount of money they have).
This is a prime example of why we should tax the living daylights out of them, space travel as a luxury makes no sense when people are dying in droves every day from poverty.
I’m sure they said the same thing to Christopher Columbus 😂😂
DeleteYeah, it crashed😂
ReplyDeleteGreat job Elon Ego
So many haters want this to fail.
ReplyDeleteIs that why it experienced that rapid disassembly thing again?
Deletei just watched one land. Btw, the space program has had its failures. I watched Apollo 1 burn. Bummer. See, just like I said, haters
Deletehttps://apnews.com/article/spacex-starship-launch-musk-bb8bd2b8c20d9aa5920aea93e9bbfee6?fbclid=IwAR0NcC6bQiaxZExwIktK7JwgbqYDzik-PUBN5Js50Pus6anloiw4X4hnHVU
Deletebecause we don’t like the us government giving 4 billion to a private corp to blow up 100 million dollar rockets over the oceans and call it a success…. Maybe? 🤔
DeleteBetter to pay the price of discipline than to pay the price of regret tomorrow, make the right decision to join the crypto winning team today, contact Mr Stewart to know more on how to start earning through the name below
ReplyDelete👇👇
Stewart Kuschner
I recall some bizarre age-old claim that Private sector rocket development would be less risky, with fewer failures. Even with modern Model-based Systems Engineering AND the full consultation with NASA reviews and experience - well, "it sure did not work out that way".
ReplyDeleteIt seems this was planned for, therefore not a failure
DeleteNow we can bring back the space shuttle! Why not? If you can modify that heavy booster and put the shuttle on top of it no ice 🧊 to destroy the tiles.
ReplyDeleteOverinflated musk, rich and stupid.
ReplyDeleteDidn't Artemis I successfully launch, made it to the moon and beyond, and came back to earth intact? Isn't there plans for Artemis II?
ReplyDeleteYes. SLS (rocket) will launch Orion (spacecraft) for the next few Artemis missions. However, Orion doesn't land. Starship will have a Human Lander version (HLS) which will take the humans to the Moon's surface and then return them to Orion.
DeleteIf I remember correctly, we made it to the moon and back in 1969. Why are we reinventing the wheel? Unless we need this monster rocket to carry a few nukes to a new, secret base on the moon. Paranoid? You bet I am.
ReplyDeleteThis wheel is reusable and 1/10th the cost.
DeleteIt will be used to put more Starlink Sats in orbit to drive down the cost.
DeleteFor the uninitiated out there who are hating on Starship/SpaceX/Musk and calling this another failure...
ReplyDeleteThis is EXACTLY what SpaceX has done with almost every rocket they've ever developed.
It's EXACTLY what they do.
Launch.Destroy.Learn.Repeat.
NASA's way of development was, and has, proven to be financially unsustainable and therefor unable to get humanity to Mars or any other long-term development of space.
It's why our government now relies on SpaceX to even GET our people to space in ANY way.
Starship is the future of space, it's colonization, and possibly humanity itself.
It's success is almost inevitable now, and it will change the future of our species.
So long as the data hints at why each part of the system failed to fully complete the mission assignment.
DeleteTrue. But I'd bet they already know the cause.
Deleteevery new rocket developed , went through the same trials, some need to start looking at history before they start the hating!
DeleteThis comment has been removed by a blog administrator.
DeleteAnyone who thinks building an inexpensive, rapidly reusable, vertical take off and landing rocket is easy and should just work the first time, is showing the only thing their head is good for is keeping their hat warm. What SpaceX is doing is near impossibly difficult, yet they are moving forward at a ridiculously fast pace.
DeleteIt's amazing that Musk is doing this with mostly his and private money, and everyone is mad about it. NASA does this with government money, paying billions in cost-plus contracts to major MIC contractors, and nobody blinks an eye.
But nobody's been told they're supposed to hate Boeing, Lockheed, and Raytheon yet.
Who is you?
DeleteIt wasn't lost. It was intended to splash down in the Indian Ocean. This was a perfect test by some very talented people.
ReplyDeleteExactly, it had no landing package, it was expected to burn up on re-entry.
DeleteNo, it wasn't. It was supposed to belly flop into the indian ocean intact to show it could survive re-entry.
DeleteEach new test goes further than the last.
ReplyDeleteCongrats to the whole SpaceX team!
ReplyDeleteCongrats for bilking the US taxpayers out of more money and a 'successful' disintegration.
DeleteWhat are you talking about? The only money that SpaceX has received for the starship program is for the Human Lander that will land on the moon for Artemis 3 and 4. Most of the research and development is being funding by SpaceX.
Deletemusk should stick with model rocketry, or volunteer to go on the next flight
ReplyDeleteLet us know how your orbital rocket program is proceeding.
DeleteMore. On.
DeleteJealous haters are the best!!
DeletePerhaps you don't recall the many failures to launch of every nation which has ever attempted to understand rocket science.
DeleteI don't hate, I am tired of wasting money on this loser to satisfy his ego.
DeleteOne would think he would use some of that technology and learn from those failures to limit his and the loss of our money as he tries to soothe his bruised ego.
Deletemost people learn from their failures
DeleteMSN doesn't want me to say It sure sounds to me like someone has a fragile ego.
DeleteNASA's own history of failures:
Delete1959 Vanguard SLV5
1959 Explorer S-1
1959 Pioneer 3
1960 Explorer S-46
Echo A-10
Mercury Atlas MA-1
Pioneer P-30
Mercury Redstone MR-1
Explorer s-56
Pioneer P-31
1961 Explorer S-45
Explorer S-55
Ranger 1
Explorer 13
Mercury Scout 1
Ranger 2
1962 Ranger 3
Ranger 4
Mariner 1
Ranger 5
1963 Syncom 1
1964 Beacon Explorer a
Atlas-Centaur 3
Mariner 3
1965 Tiros 9
Atlas-Centaur 5
OSO 3
GATV 6
1966 OAO 1
GATV 9
ATDA TDA 4
surveyor 2
Biosat 1
1967 Apollo 1 - 3 Astronauts killed
ATS 2
Surveyor 4
Nimbus B
ATS 4
And more.
I agree musk does.
DeleteAnd musk did not learn from these??? LMAO
DeleteThen get a government or NASA job and nix the deals, otherwise, hang on, more to come...
DeleteNothing to learn from those as none of those where capable to land back on Earth to be reused....not a single one.
DeleteMusk is just trying to be the billionaire who thinks he will save humanity, while he sucks up all the resources he can.
ReplyDeleteJealous
DeleteYeah, that's what it is
DeleteGreat Job SpaceX, inching closer to a fully functional spacecraft
ReplyDeleteLooks like a good plan for the next new ICBM ;-)
ReplyDeleteGreat job! Let me the first to say hello and welcome to 1969!
ReplyDeleteSpace Hex lost the voodoo.
ReplyDeletePlease notice me, Elon!
ReplyDelete