It is often said that the third time is the charm, and we can believe that in this case this saying is true for SpaceX. Finally, after two partially successful attempts, Elon Musk’s company managed to complete the Starship tests with much greater success.
The first attempt was made in April 2023. It was considered a partial success since the launch took place. However, the separation of Starship from its first phase could not be overcome. Super Heavy, so a controlled explosion was carried out. The trajectory is calculated taking into account this separation. If this does not happen, changes may occur in the trajectory that lead to incidents. For this reason, SpaceX engineers chose to blow up the ship.
The second attempt took place in November last year. This time the separation of the two phases was successful. Progress has been made, which SpaceX appreciates. However, 9 minutes later, communication with the ship was lost due to an explosion.
This time things went further and, with the exception of the explosion of the first stage engines upon landing, everything went according to plan.
SpaceX Starship makes history
SpaceX engineers have learned from mistakes made in previous launch attempts. So this time thanks 17 improvements implemented in the development of the ship, almost the entire planned launch was carried out
The spacecraft was launched at approximately 14:27 (Spanish Peninsula time, 7:27 a.m. in Mexico City) from the space base Boca Chica. Then, having climbed 74 kilometers, hot separation successful first stage (Super Hard). Of the 33 Raptor engines in the upper stage, it was necessary that only the central three remain on. And so it was. Thanks to this, the Super Heavyweight was able to perform the descent correctly. Unfortunately, he was unable to implement splashdown was being controlled in the Gulf of Mexico due to an engine ignition failure, causing it to explode at just that moment.
Meanwhile, the starship continued to fly without problems until it reached its peak. For an hour now he has been conducting tests planned by SpaceX. The first was the discovery cargo compartment hatches. Also, for the first time in history, it was possible to create transfer of cryogenic fuel into orbit.
Only one of the orbital tests failed
The final test will be restarting one of the Raptor engines, but there was a glitch that prevented it from running. This would make it easier to reduce the speed needed to avoid losing control during reentry. However, this stage was overcome thanks to a heat shield consisting of 18,000 hexagonal tiles. In addition, another unexpected historical milestone was achieved: the beginning of reentry was broadcast live thanks to the Starlink antennas installed on the ship. They were not expected to survive the violent passage through the first layers of the atmosphere, but they survived, allowing transmission telemetry much longer than expected.
Unfortunately, once the signal was lost, they were unable to restore it, so it was assumed that the Starship exploded at the end of reentry.
A ship that breaks records
Starship is the largest and most powerful rocket ever built. WITH 122 meters highexceeds the launch system by 24 meters NASA SLS. It is therefore expected to be able to help transport astronauts from lunar orbit to the satellite itself on upcoming Artemis missions.
SpaceX has already reached relevant agreements with NASA and other agencies involved in this program. But we will have to wait for the third stage. until 2026, for reasons beyond the control of Elon Musk’s company. At least now we know that Starship is in good health and ready to do its part in returning humans to the Moon. Today’s launch confirms that, while it may not have been flawless, it shows that Starship can make history and that it’s just getting started.
Source: Hiper Textual
