“The test will help improve Starship’s reliability”
“As if the flight test wasn’t exciting enough, there was a quick and unplanned ‘Starship’ separation prior to stage separation,” SpaceX tweeted immediately after the explosion. “In a test like this, success depends on what we learn, and today’s test will help us to improve the reliability of the ‘Starship’,” he said. The team will now evaluate the test data extensively and work toward starting the next test.
The head of the US space agency Nasa, Bill Nelson, also congratulated. “Each great achievement in history has taken some calculated risk, because with great risks come great rewards. We look forward to everything SpaceX learns about the next launch attempt – and beyond.”
Praise also came from across the Atlantic: “Congratulations,” wrote Josef Aschbacher, director general of the European Space Agency ESA, on Twitter. “An impressive move.” German astronaut Alexander Gerst wrote of a “significant event for the future of space exploration”. “Starship” will take people far away in space and on the moon. “To stay at the table of space nations, we Europeans also need a space transportation system for people!”
“Starship” was initially lifted off the ground on Thursday in Brownsville, Texas, with a lot of fire and smoke. A few minutes later – just before the rocket’s two stages separated – live footage showed how the rocket’s system began to sag and finally burst apart in fire. In fact, the test should have lasted about 90 minutes and ended with the landing of both stages.
Rocket should be reusable after returning to Earth
“Starship” – consisting of the approximately 70 meters long “Super Heavy” booster and the approximately 50 meters long upper stage, also called “Starship”, is intended to enable manned missions to the moon and Mars. The first test launch was scheduled for Monday but was postponed to Thursday due to a problem with a valve. The system is designed so that the spacecraft and rocket can be reused after returning to Earth. The upper stage had already been tested alone several times, but this was the first combined flight test of the entire missile system.
“Starship” must be able to be refueled in space
The system, which is around 120 meters long in total, is expected to be able to carry well over 100 tonnes of cargo in the future. The rocket is powered by 33 “Raptor” engines that run on liquid methane and liquid oxygen. The system must be capable of being replenished in space. With SpaceX “Starship”, the US space agency Nasa wants to take astronauts to the moon. SpaceX hopes to one day reach Mars.