TV capture
SpaceX launched the first test flight of Starship, the most powerful rocket ever built, this Thursday morning, but after liftoff it exploded in midair, frustrating the goal of orbiting Earth for 90 minutes to mark a milestone on the way to the interplanetary travel.
The Starship rocket, developed by the American company #SpaceX for trips to the Moon and Mars, exploded during its first test flight shortly after takeoff in Texas, according to the video broadcast of the company of billionaire Elon Musk pic.twitter.com /rcvKjX230k
– Télam Agency (@AgenciaTelam) April 20, 2023
The launch took place at 10:35 a.m. Argentine time, amid shouts and applause from the crowd that gathered at the private Starbase spaceport, located near Boca Chica, Texas.in United States.
But just minutes after its launch, the rocket exploded in midair, separating ahead of schedule.
“With a test like this, success comes from what we learn, and today’s test will help us improve Starship’s reliability as SpaceX seeks to make life multiplanetary,” the company posted on its Twitter account after the launch. run by billionaire Elon Musk.
“As if the flight test wasn’t exciting enough, Starship experienced a rapid unscheduled teardown prior to stage separation,” they added.
“As if the flight test wasn’t exciting enough, Starship underwent a rapid unscheduled teardown prior to stage separation”
“Starship has cleared the platform and the beach! The vehicle is on a nominal flight path,” SpaceX had first reported, before hitting its target.
SpaceX’s Starship spacecraft and Super Heavy rocket, collectively referred to as Starship, represent a fully reusable transportation system designed to travel both crew and cargo to Earth orbit, the Moon, Mars and beyond.
As if the flight test was not exciting enough, Starship experienced a rapid unscheduled disassembly before stage separation
— SpaceX (@SpaceX) April 20, 2023
SpaceX’s space vehicle is 120 meters high and has a diameter of 9 meters and hopes in the future to be able to carry up to 100 passengers on interplanetary trips.
Photo: AFP
The 50-meter-tall reusable capsule carries equipment and cargo, while the first-stage Super Heavy rocket booster stands about 70 meters tall.
Starship is the world’s most powerful launch vehicle ever developed, capable of carrying up to 150 fully reusable metric tons and 250 replaceable metric tons, according to information from SpaceX.
The vehicle was scheduled to fly for 90 minutes in Earth orbit, ending near Hawaii, where it was to be submerged in the Pacific Ocean so that it could be reused.
The US space agency, NASA, chose the Starship capsule to transport its astronauts to the Moon as part of the Artemis III mission, scheduled to depart in late 2025 or later.
NASA will carry astronauts into lunar orbit in November 2024 using its own space rocket called the Space Launch System (SLS).which is over a decade in the making, but the Starship is bigger and more powerful than the SLS.
SpaceX had already carried out a successful firing test of the 33 Raptor engines arranged in Starship’s first stage booster in February.
Each Starship flight could cost “less than $10 million,” Musk said early last year.
Congrats @SpaceX team on an exciting test launch of Starship!
Learned a lot for next test launch in a few months. pic.twitter.com/gswdFut1dK
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) April 20, 2023
Elon Musk’s tweet after the explosion in the air
The billionaire businessman who owns SpaceX, Elon Musk, congratulated the team of the space company for the “exciting test launch” of Starship, the most powerful rocket ever built, which exploded in midair a few minutes after takeoff.
“Congratulations to the @SpaceX team on an exciting Starship test launch!” Musk posted on his Twitter account after the Starship rocket exploded after launch at the private Starbase spaceport, located in the city of Boca Chica, Texas, in the United States.
In the same tweet, the billionaire added: “Learned a lot for the next test launch in a few months.”
