After consecutive explosions, Spacex He launched again his mega rocket Starship on Tuesday afternoon, But he failed to meet the main objectives when the ship began to turn out of control and disintegrated.
The 403 feet rocket took off in its ninth test from Starbase, the spacex launch site at the southern end of Texas. The residents voted this month to organize as an official city.
Spacex, directed by Elon MuskI hoped to release a series of simulated satellites after takeoff, but the operation was canceled because the gate did not open completely. Then, the ship began to turn while traveling through space towards an un controlled landing in the Indian Ocean.
Later, Spacex confirmed that the ship experienced a “rapid unchanging disintegration”; In other words, which broke into pieces. “The teams will continue to review the data and working for our next flight test,” said the company in an online statement.
It was the first time that one of Musk’s starships – designated to travel to the moon and Mars – flew with a reused propeller. It was not planned to recover the propeller with the huge “Chinese sticks” on the launch platform, as in previous tests. The contact with the propeller was lost at a given time, and crashed in the Gulf of Mexico in pieces while the ship continued to the Indian Ocean.
Then, the ship lost control, apparently due to fuel leaks.
“You don’t look good with many of our objectives in orbit for today,” he said They give huotSpacex flight commentator. The company sought to try the thermal shield of the ship during a controlled reentry.
The communication was lost before the ship descended, and Spacex finished its live broadcast shortly after.
The two previous starships never passed from the Caribbean. The tests at the beginning of this year ended just a few minutes after takeoff, spreading remains in the ocean. No injuries or serious damage were reported, although commercial flights were interrupted. The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) authorized another Starship flight last week, expanding the risk area and pushing takeoff out of the air traffic peak hours.
In addition to taking corrective measures and making improvements, Spacex modified the thermal tiles of the ship and added special capture accessories. This was intended to sink into the Indian Ocean, but the company wanted to try the new components to capture future versions on the platform, as did the propellers.
NASA needs Spacex to advance significantly during the next year with Starship – the greatest and most powerful rocket ever built – to make astronauts return to the moon. The lunar mission next year with four astronauts will orbit the moon, but it will not land. That moanation will occur in 2027 as very soon, and will require a starship to take two astronauts from the lunar orbit to the surface and back.