SpaceX rocket: Starship breaks up in Earth’s atmosphere – Spectrum of Science
SpaceX rocket: Starship test flight largely successful
Starship’s third flight test ends with the vehicle’s premature destruction. However, the world’s largest rocket successfully completed a series of crucial maneuvers.
© Joe Marino / Newscom / picture alliance (excerpt)
Starship during its third integrated flight test on March 14, 2024.
SpaceX’s Spaceship, the largest rocket in the world, has successfully completed a test flight for the first time. At 2:25 p.m. German time, the rocket, which is 120 meters high and powered by liquid methane and liquid oxygen, lifted off from the launch pad with a super heavy booster as the first stage and Starship as the second stage. After around three minutes of flight, the Starship separated from the first stage as planned in a “hot stage” maneuver. The second stage successfully switched off its engines at an altitude of approximately 150 kilometers and then reached its intended target altitude of 234 kilometers.
It opened and closed its cargo hatch – another planned test – before also returning to the atmosphere. When we entered, contact with the Starship was lost. The largely successful flight is an important step forward for the rocket, which, with its enormous thrust and large cargo capacity, should one day make manned missions to the Moon and perhaps even Mars possible.
In advance, SpaceX had repeatedly emphasized that the flight was just a test. Although the hope is to carry out the flight according to the planned plan, the main goal is to obtain as much data as possible. The two previous integrated flight tests ended prematurely due to technical errors. This time, however, almost everything went smoothly. Only the engine’s intended ignition during flight failed, and when the second stage returned to earth, contact with the super heavy booster was lost.
The Starship also appears to have lost some of its 18,000 heat tiles upon return to the atmosphere, possibly leading to the loss of telemetry at around 65 kilometers altitude. Booster and Starship are designed to land vertically under their own power, which can significantly reduce the cost of launches. The booster, like Starship, was supposed to test controlled descent into the atmosphere today, but not landing.
Successful flight on the third attempt
Today’s third launch attempt of the world’s largest rocket followed a slightly different plan than the first two tests. From the Starbase spaceport in Boca Chica, Texas, the rocket did not fly west toward Hawaii, like its two predecessors, but southeast over southern Africa. One question mark concerned the weather. The fog that shrouded the launch pad was less of a problem, but wind was also forecast. SpaceX put the chances of suitable launch conditions at 70 percent. The company also reported that boats had driven into the exclusion zone around the launch ramp. The start was delayed by around an hour and a half.
Compared to the last test, SpaceX has improved the rocket A number of changes were made to the tank system, among other things. The company also installed new equipment on the launch platform that will reduce refueling time from 97 to 50 minutes. After launch, the craft tested a series of processes, including transferring fuel between two tanks and opening and closing the Starship’s cargo hatch.
The successful flight of the first and second stages is a great success for SpaceX after the first two flight tests failed spectacularly. During the first joint launch attempt of the booster and Starship on April 20, 2023, three of the super heavy booster’s 33 “Raptor” rocket engines failed immediately upon takeoff. The rocket’s exhaust jet destroyed the launch pad and hurled debris for miles into the landscape. During the flight, more engines went out, the rocket staggered and exploded.
On November 18, 2023, another rocket lifted off for the second flight test from the reconstructed and improved launch pad in Boca Chica. This time the engines worked during the climb. However, after the first and second stages separated, engine problems caused the booster to explode. Despite a telemetry defect, the second stage reached an altitude of 150 kilometers before it was blown up in a controlled manner due to the technical error.
It is currently unclear why contact with the Starship was lost upon re-entry into the atmosphere. The heat shield may have been damaged by vibration upon return. Obtaining data on the behavior of the second stage during this critical phase of flight was also an important goal of the flight test. With further launches, SpaceX will now attempt to return to the atmosphere and reach a stable orbit. Another booster and a Starship are currently being prepared for the next flight test; However, the launch date has not yet been determined.
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is an editor for Earth Sciences, Chemistry and Nasty Diseases.
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