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SpaceX’s Starship Rocket Suffers Major Setback in Inaugural Test Flight, Explodes Four Minutes After Liftoff
SpaceX’s Starship rocket suffered a major setback during its first test flight, exploding four minutes after liftoff due to a malfunctioning engine. While the uncrewed spacecraft successfully lifted off and cleared the launch platform, it failed to separate from its booster, ultimately plummeting to Earth and combusting entirely. The incident raises questions about the reliability of the rocket and the feasibility of using methane fuel.
SpaceX’s Starship rocket, which is designed to facilitate multi-planetary life, suffered a major setback during an inaugural test flight on Thursday. Although the 400-foot-tall rocket successfully lifted off the launch pad, it failed to separate from its booster and exploded four minutes after liftoff. The uncrewed spacecraft had been expected to complete a 90-minute trip around the Earth before making a splashdown near Hawaii. However, after reaching MaxQ, the rocket began to spin in the air, then started to plummet before combusting entirely. A livestream of the launch suggested that some of the 39 engines had malfunctioned.
SpaceX YouTube
Despite the failure, SpaceX staff cheered as Starship went down in flames, with the company tweeting that “success comes from what we learn,” and that the test would allow them to improve Starship’s reliability. The rocket’s ultimate goal is to one day ferry humans to the moon and Mars. NASA administrator Bill Nelson tweeted that he was looking forward to seeing what the next launch could bring, adding that “with great risk comes great reward.” NASA is paying SpaceX to develop a reusable moon shuttle, though the mission is still several years away.
Story on NPR: https://www.npr.org/2023/04/20/1170983959/spacex-starship-launch-elon-musk