/ world today news/ The long-awaited test of the “Starship” missile system took place on Thursday. The largest of the super-heavy rockets created by mankind managed to break away from the launch pad and rise to a height of 38 kilometers, but then problems began, including critical ones. What is it – intermediate success or complete failure? To what extent did Elon Musk succeed in what he set out to do?
Elon Musk announced the ultra-heavy missile system back in July 2010, when it was called FalconXX. Then it was renamed to “Martian Colonial Transport”, then to ITS, then to BFR and already in 2018 they came to the variant “Starship”. It is a reusable launch vehicle 122 meters high and 9 in diameter, consisting of two parts.
The first has its own name “Superheavy” and is equipped with 33 “Raptor-2” engines (20 marching and 13 steering). The upper part is also the second stage, equipped with six Raptor-2 engines, which takes itself and the Starship spacecraft into orbit. Both parts will have to independently return to Earth and land on their own engines.
Expensive explosion and destruction
SpaceX is committed to making Starship perpendicular to the currently accepted system of first calculations, then design and prototyping according to that design. Instead, Musk opted for trial and error, making changes on the fly. Sometimes he even had to take apart some prototypes and introduce late ideas into them.
As a result, the system underwent many changes. An illustrative example is the thermal protection for the passage of dense layers of the atmosphere when the Starship returns from orbit. At first it had to be made of steel, then there was an option with cooling by pyrolysis of its own fuel through holes in the hull, in the end it came to thermal protection tiles, which are classic for shuttles.
From 2020 to 2021, seven test atmospheric launches of Starship were carried out, of which the prototype survived in only two cases. The others ended with a big and spectacular explosion, and the first stage of the “Superheavy” was ultimately never tested.
The last successful test was conducted on May 5, 2021. Since then, the team has been working on engine development and other tests for two years. Starship’s orbital flight was constantly delayed, and now the launch was canceled literally at the last minute.
Almost immediately after, however, information emerged that the countdown could continue. After a few minutes it really went on and the rocket tried to take off from the launch pad.
However, taking off and gaining altitude took too long. Maybe it’s a problem with the thrust to weight ratio, not enough for a normal start. The launch infographic showed that two of the 33 engines placed in the first stage failed to engage.
In general, this is normal. It was previously mentioned about the possibility of such a situation and further reduction of capacities. But then chunks of concrete and some huge sheets were seen flying from the launch pad.
A little more – and the rocket began to take off, but not quite vertically, but with some lateral displacement. Slowly gaining height, the huge structure rushed towards the sky. After about 30 seconds, one of the hydraulic units is seen exploding, which most likely became a source of trouble later on.
About the second minute into the flight, three more engines went out, then one more, but then it started showing up again. The rocket overcame the zone of maximum dynamic resistance of the atmosphere, accelerated to 2,000 kilometers per hour, climbed to 38 kilometers and began to pass into horizontal flight, as is usually done in space launches. Then the incomprehensible began.
The rocket started spinning as if it had lost its orientation. Explosions and surges in the operation of the engines were more and more common. Then the color of the flame changed, which could indicate fuel exhaustion (when only oxygen remains in the tanks), and the engines began to burn, as in previous tests.
“Starship” never separated, probably due to insufficient altitude – it was supposed to start work at 60 kilometers. As the rocket began to fall erratically, the team detonated it in the air.
Success or failure?
Formally, the start took place. “Superheavy” has shown that it can lift “Starship” and the system is able to overcome the region of maximum atmospheric drag, which is considered a very difficult part of the flight.
On the other hand, various issues were raised. There is a delayed takeoff on the launch pad and a large number of Starship heat shields falling off and engine explosions, a problem from the first generation of Raptors.
That is, there is still a lot of work to be done, and it is unlikely that it will be possible to quickly release the next prototype. If only because of all the concrete that was ripped from the launch pad and the damaged structures.
The team’s lack of gas vents has long been criticized by third-party experts, but SpaceX hoped to get away without them. It didn’t work out. In addition to the failure of the engines, they will also have to deal with the loss of control of the rocket.
Knowing the SpaceX team, they are unlikely to stop with this launch. Too much is at stake: developing the world’s largest superheavy rocket is a serious jackpot. Therefore, new prototypes and new trials are coming.
Elon Musk stated the following: “I will consider any outcome a success if the launch pad remains intact and undamaged.” Then it is definitely a failure. But it turned out spectacular..
Translation: V. Sergeev
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