That's what you get when you take major shortcuts like a half-ass launch pad that sprays shrapnel for miles and possibly damages your own engines.
SpaceX Starship
- Thread starter isutrevman
- Start date
I’m not a rocket scientist, but yes, a rocket lifting off and exploding is a lot different than a hurricane. Although I’m not sure what the relevance is regardless.
Not something I thought I’d have to explain to 3 people.
Part of being an engineer is accounting for "worst case scenarios" with steel, wood, concrete, etc. Sounds like SpaceX's people knew there would be some damage/fallout from this but went ahead and were thinking "well, let's just see what happens, and hopefully we dont get the worst." I just think when it comes to this, cars, airplanes, trains, skyscrapers, etc you should consider a delay until your concerns are more addressed.
Starship is the lunar descent vehicle for the Artemis program. Artemis 3 is planned for 2025 (very doubtful) which would be the first landing mission. The crew would launch in the Orion spacecraft atop SLS and rendezvous with starship in lunar orbit. The crew would also return to earth on Orion. It'll be a very long time before people are on launched on starship and have to go through the crazy flip-n-burn landing.
I saw a really interesting thread on NASA's water deluge system - it's as much for noise abatement as cooling. When the rockets fire it creates a sonic boom inside the nozzle that gets blasted downward. That boom hits the pad and reflects back upwards directly into the rocket. The water deluge absorbs a significant portion of that shockwave both from nozzle->pad and pad->rocket.
Edit: found the thread. Here is where he starts on the noise abatement.
Some good updates here.
A few points I'm remembering off the top of my head, so correct me if these are wrong:
-Pad can be fixed in 6-8 weeks. This will include upgrades to the pad with water cooled steel plates that might include a water deluge system included.
-The launch mount itself above the foundation had minimal damage.
-Don't think the engines were damaged by debris. 3 were automatically shut down upon start up as they weren't functioning properly. The others had other errors during the flight that caused them to shut down.
-Flight went ok until about 40 seconds in, then they started losing steering control.
-Flight-termination system (FTS) was triggered, but the craft didn't come apart until about 40 seconds later. This is a problem.
-Longest lead time moving forward with be getting a new FTS approved since the last one didn't work as intended and is a major safety issue.
-The next booster and ship to fly have major upgrades, especially to the engines. Should be more reliable.
-Debris scatter wasn't ideal, but not a huge issue. It's sand and rocks, nothing toxic or hazardous.
-They like their chances of reaching orbit this year
-Targeting 4-5 more test flights this year.
The last two were the big surprises to me. That's also Elon talking who tends to be overly optimistic with milestones. Didn't give a definitive estimate for the next launch as it depends on getting the new FTS approved and obviously a new FAA launch approval, as is required for every launch.
This is all second hand info as I didn't watch the Twitter spaces chat.
A few points I'm remembering off the top of my head, so correct me if these are wrong:
-Pad can be fixed in 6-8 weeks. This will include upgrades to the pad with water cooled steel plates that might include a water deluge system included.
-The launch mount itself above the foundation had minimal damage.
-Don't think the engines were damaged by debris. 3 were automatically shut down upon start up as they weren't functioning properly. The others had other errors during the flight that caused them to shut down.
-Flight went ok until about 40 seconds in, then they started losing steering control.
-Flight-termination system (FTS) was triggered, but the craft didn't come apart until about 40 seconds later. This is a problem.
-Longest lead time moving forward with be getting a new FTS approved since the last one didn't work as intended and is a major safety issue.
-The next booster and ship to fly have major upgrades, especially to the engines. Should be more reliable.
-Debris scatter wasn't ideal, but not a huge issue. It's sand and rocks, nothing toxic or hazardous.
-They like their chances of reaching orbit this year
-Targeting 4-5 more test flights this year.
The last two were the big surprises to me. That's also Elon talking who tends to be overly optimistic with milestones. Didn't give a definitive estimate for the next launch as it depends on getting the new FTS approved and obviously a new FAA launch approval, as is required for every launch.
This is all second hand info as I didn't watch the Twitter spaces chat.
Embedded video actually shows a SpaceX rocket NOT blowing the earth to pieces.
www.space.com
SpaceX Falcon Heavy rocket aborts triple satellite launch at last minute
"There are thousands of ways to launch a rocket and there's only one way that it can go right," SpaceX says.
And I'm going to get laid by 10 super models tonight.
Environmental groups sue FAA for SpaceX launch that exploded in April | CNN
Environmental groups are suing the Federal Aviation Administration in federal court over SpaceX's launch of its massive Starship rocket last month. The groups argue that the agency failed to adequately investigate the potential harm the launch -- or a mishap -- could do to the surrounding...
Some mElon porn, for those into that.
www.space.com
Gorgeous photos show SpaceX's next Starship Super Heavy booster on the launch pad
SpaceX is prepping Booster 9 for flight.
