Another SpaceX Starship nails clean test flight but explodes on landing

SpaceX’s latest Starship prototype launched on Tuesday rose miles above its South Texas facilities in a successful flight demonstration before exploding during the landing attempt. This is the second failed landing in a row, after a previous prototype, SN8, was launched and the landing could not last in December.

This week’s launch demo – one of many in the books – follows weeks of tension between SpaceX and the Federal Aviation Administration, which approves test launches like these. During the test launch with SN8 two months ago, the company violated the FAA license for its launch. This prompted an investigation that kept the SN9 flight from today and frustrated SpaceX CEO Elon Musk. The edge reported last week.

In a statement announced Tuesday morning that SN9 would fly clear, the FAA confirmed the previous violation: Before launching SN8, the agency received a request from SpaceX to address the safety restrictions of public safety associated with the flight, to relinquish, but SpaceX launched the case anyway. It is still unclear what safety restrictions SpaceX wanted to waive in connection with the launch. The FAA did not want to specify and SpaceX has not yet commented.

On 16 Tuesday, with a new FAA approval for a flight plan that ‘complies with all safety and related federal regulations’, the 16-story rocket landed under clear sky from SpaceX’s Boca Chica around 3:30 p.m. , Texas test facilities hoisted. an altitude of 10 km – slightly shorter than SN8’s target altitude of 7 km. After that, SN9 switched off its three engines to start a freefall dance back to earth, tilted to its side to test new aerodynamic valves and try a “belly flop” maneuver. If all went well, the rocket would have landed vertically.

SpaceX

Instead, SN9 slammed into the ground at an angle of about 45 degrees and, like SN8, perished in an explosive fireball. “We had another good flight to the 10km long apogee … we just have to work a little bit on the landing,” said SpaceX engineer John Insprucker. He usually only tells the company’s live video input for the launch of Falcon 9.

The FAA opened an investigation into the SN9 landing explosion, said in a statement on Tuesday night, “although it was an unmanned test flight, the investigation will be the cause of today’s crash and possible opportunities for safety as the program to improve, identify, develop. ”

The landing blast sprayed debris on SN10, another Starship prototype ready for SpaceX’s next test flight. The company drove SN10 out of its tower-like, rocket-shaped facilities last Friday night to make way for future prototype construction.

Insprucker reminded SpaceX’s audience that the SN9 flight, although it ended in a dramatic explosion, was a test and that a number of test objectives were achieved. This was the second time our Starship flew in this configuration, we have very good data, and the primary purpose of demonstrating the driving of the vehicle in the subsonic re-entry was very good. And we will get a lot out of it, ‘he said.