SpaceX’s gigantic Super Heavy Starship, the most powerful rocket ever built, launched on its second test flight on Saturday, and while the initial phase of the mission went smoothly, the first stage broke apart shortly after separating from the Starship’s upper stage. The spacecraft, in turn, exploded itself as it approached space.
Viewed as a successful learning experience by SpaceX, it was the second consecutive failure to launch the Starship upper stage into space, a frustrating disappointment for Elon Musk’s rocket company and a potentially major setback for NASA, which is betting on the Starship to transport Artemis astronauts will fly to the lunar surface in the next few years.
People watch as SpaceX’s next-generation Starship spacecraft lifts off on its powerful Super Heavy rocket from the company’s launch pad in Boca Chica for an uncrewed test flight, seen from South Padre Island, Texas, November 18, 2023. Portal/Go Nakamura
While SpaceX’s philosophy is to fly as quickly as possible and learn from mistakes, NASA will need a long series of successful missions before the agency deems it safe to bring astronauts on board. SpaceX will undoubtedly resolve the problems that derailed Saturday’s flight, but any delay poses a threat to NASA’s lunar landing schedule.
But a SpaceX post on social media said: “In a test like this, success comes from what we learn, and today’s test will help us improve Starship’s reliability as SpaceX seeks to make life multiplanetary.”
Click here to view related media.
Click to expand
In a test like this, success comes from what we learn, and today’s test will help us improve Starship’s reliability as SpaceX attempts to make life multiplanetary
– SpaceX (@SpaceX) November 18, 2023
NASA Administrator Bill Nelson also supported us.
“Congratulations to the teams who made progress in today’s flight test,” he said tweeted. “Space travel is a bold adventure that requires drive and bold innovation. Today’s test is an opportunity to learn – and then fly again.”
America’s spirit of possibility led to the creation of @NASA 65 years ago. Since then, we have broken barriers, broken boundaries and made the impossible possible. On to the next chapter of expanding the boundaries of space! pic.twitter.com/hX61Rxej8G
— Bill Nelson (@SenBillNelson) October 2, 2023
The Super Heavy’s 33 methane-fueled Raptor engines broke the morning calm at SpaceX’s Boca Chica launch site on the Texas Gulf Coast and ignited at 8:03 a.m. EST with a stream of flames that instantly engulfed the rocket in billowing clouds of dust and vapor.
Carrying more than 40,000 pounds of methane and liquid oxygen per second, the 397-foot-tall, 11 million-pound rocket slowly rose into the sky, delighting thousands of residents, tourists and journalists who watched from nearby South Padre Island.
The launch comes nearly seven months after an initial test flight on April 20 ended in a spectacular conflagration four minutes after liftoff, triggered by multiple first-stage engine failures, problems separating the Starship from the Super Heavy and a catastrophic fall. Maximum altitude: 24 miles.
On the second attempt, the rocket went further and some of the systems that derailed the first test flight appeared to function normally. All 33 Raptor engines powering the first stage ignited during the boost phase of the flight, and a new “hot staging” system, in which the spacecraft’s engines ignited before separation, worked as intended.
SpaceX’s Starship spacecraft lifts off on its powerful Super Heavy rocket from the company’s launch pad in Boca Chica for an uncrewed test flight, seen from South Padre Island, Texas, November 18, 2023. Portal/Go Nakamura
Shortly after separation, the first stage turned around and began positioning for a planned controlled splashdown in the Gulf of Mexico, closer to the Texas coast. But a few moments later it suddenly fell apart, possibly due to the stress of the hot staging technology.
However, the spacecraft continued its ascent into space using the power of its six Raptor engines. Everything went well until air traffic controllers lost contact with the rocket about eight and a half minutes into the flight. At this point, the vehicle was no longer visible to the long-range tracking cameras, but a sudden, shimmering disturbance in the atmosphere may have been a sign of the missile’s destruction.
“We lost the second stage data,” reported SpaceX engineer John Insprucker.
Musk, the SpaceX founder, could be seen huddling with air traffic controllers and looking at computer monitors to get a sense of what might have happened.
SpaceX founder Elon Musk, third from right, discusses the launch with engineers at the company’s mission control center in Boca Chica, Texas, November 18, 2023. SpaceX
Moments later, Insprucker said, “The automatic flight abort system on the second stage appears to have been triggered very late in the ignition, as we were on our way down over the Gulf of Mexico.”
The Federal Aviation Administration said in a statement that it “will be involved in every step of the mishap investigation process and must approve the final mishap report, including corrective actions.”
“A return to flight of the Starship Super Heavy vehicle is based on the FAA’s determination that any system, process or procedure related to the accident does not compromise public safety,” the statement said.
What worked – and what went wrong?
It is not yet known why the Super Heavy booster broke apart or why the spacecraft’s upper stage apparently failed shortly before or after the engine shut down. However, SpaceX commentators said the flight’s main goal, testing the hot staging system to separate the upper and lower stages, appeared to work as planned.
Likewise, all 33 Raptor engines in the Super Heavy and the spacecraft’s six engines appeared to fire normally as long as the vehicles were visible. It remains to be seen what effect the further upgrades made after the April outage will have on Saturday.
NASA is spending billions on a variant of the spacecraft to carry Artemis astronauts back to the lunar surface. SpaceX is betting that the rocket will significantly expand its fleet of Starlink internet satellites and eventually enable low-cost government and commercial flights to the moon, Mars and beyond, in line with Musk’s ambition to transform humanity into a “multiplanet species.” close.
Demonstrating the reliability required for astronaut flights will require multiple test flights, and it is not yet clear how long that will take. Although Saturday’s start was anything but a complete success, it did demonstrate solid engine performance and a successful stage separation.
During the April flight, the platform was severely damaged, the Super Heavy suffered multiple premature engine shutdowns, the stage separation system malfunctioned, and activation of the rocket’s self-destruct system took longer than expected.
The rocket reached a maximum altitude of 24 miles, well below the 50-mile altitude that NASA considers the “limit” of space, before plummeting back toward Earth and exploding in a fireball of burning fuel.
The FAA investigated the error and identified “several root causes of the… mishap and 63 corrective actions that SpaceX must take to prevent the mishap from occurring again.”
Musk said the company has made “well over a thousand” changes to improve safety and performance. The company finally received the required FAA launch license earlier this week following a final review of the missile’s potential impact on wildlife in the area.
In addition to the hot phase, SpaceX added a powerful water flooding system to the launch pad to reduce the acoustic shock of the engine ignition and the effects of their combined thrust. During the April launch, the platform’s base was severely damaged, with steel and concrete debris blasted into the surrounding area.
Other key improvements include the replacement of hydraulic actuators with an electrically powered engine steering system and an improved, faster-acting self-destruct system.
The most powerful rocket in the world
Musk believes the Super Heavy Starship will usher in a new era in space transportation.
It is by far the largest and most powerful rocket ever built. It stands 40 stories tall and weighs more than 11 million pounds when fully loaded.
By burning methane with liquid oxygen, the rocket is capable of producing an incredible 16.7 million pounds of thrust, more than twice as much as NASA’s Space Launch System lunar rocket and the legendary Apollo-era Saturn 5.
The Super Heavy first stage alone is 230 feet tall, while the Starship upper stage, designed to carry cargo, passengers or both, is another 164 feet tall and is equipped with six Raptor engines of its own. It is capable of carrying up to 150 tons of cargo into low Earth orbit.
SpaceX’s next-generation Starship spacecraft is removed from the tip of its Super Heavy rocket as it prepares for launch, November 16, 2023. JOE SKIPPER / Portal
Regular flight operations of the Super Heavy Starship are critical to NASA’s Artemis lunar program. NASA awarded SpaceX a $2.9 billion contract in 2021 to develop a variant of the Starship upper stage to carry astronauts to the lunar surface in the next two to three years.
To send a spacecraft to the moon, SpaceX must first refuel it in low-Earth orbit, automatically transferring thousands of gallons of supercold cryogenic propellants carried by several of the spacecraft’s “tankers.” The number of tankers needed is not yet known, but senior NASA managers said more than a dozen will be needed for each spacecraft sent to the moon.
NASA’s contract calls for an unmanned lunar test flight before astronauts can attempt a landing. Artemis managers are still officially aiming for the first moon landing with astronauts on board by the end of 2025, but that’s not remotely feasible given SpaceX’s pace in developing the Starship system.
It’s also not known when SpaceX might be ready to send paying customers aboard the new rocket. Aside from NASA’s lunar program, at least three purely civilian missions have been booked so far.
Billionaire Jared Isaacman, who charted the first private Crew Dragon flight into low Earth orbit in 2019, plans to be aboard the first manned orbital flight of a spacecraft as part of his Polaris Dawn program.
Japanese billionaire Yusaku Maezawa, who paid the Russians a visit to the International Space Station in 2021, has also chartered a spacecraft flight – “Dear Moon” – to carry him, an assistant and 10 artists and influencers on a privately funded trip -the Moon trip.
A third civilian Starship flight carrying 12 passengers, including space station veteran Dennis Tito and his wife, was also booked. Tito paid the Russians an estimated $20 million to visit the International Space Station in 2001 and said he couldn’t wait to go into space again and share the experience with his wife.
It’s unknown what SpaceX might charge for a privately chartered Starship flight.
More William Harwood