Here’s what probably went wrong.
An explanation
SpaceX’s SN10 Starship prototype may have landed successfully, but the ensuing explosion likely left something to be desired.
The company, led by Elon Musk, is now working hard to stop the next prototype, called SN11, from blowing itself into small pieces. This means that the big question in the aerospace industry is whether it will succeed – a tension that naturally seems to be Musk himself.
Helium that relaxes
Musk took to Twitter on Tuesday to explain what went wrong during the first trip of SN10 last month.
“The SN10 engine was low under pressure (probably) due to partial intake of helium from the fuel tank,” the billionaire explained. “Impact of 10 m / s broken legs and part of the trunk.”
The following prototype may have sturdier legs to ensure that the ground does not cause damage to the fuel tanks above. “Multiple solutions work for SN11,” Musk promised in the tweet.
Sucking bubbles
On the question of whether there are shovels, which are devices used to keep liquid or gas in check, not to let the rocket fuel circulate, Musk made an educated guess – and elaborated on what SN10 may have caused.
“There were dishes, but one might have acted like a straw to suck in bubbles from above the liquid or gas level.”
Musk spoke from experience. “Something similar happened during an early Falcon 1 flight, which unexpectedly had a large amount of liquid oxygen at the shutdown of the main engine,” he added.
SN11 has already been rolled on the launch pad, where it is awaiting its first static fire tests. SpaceX has a decent chance of landing it – and not having another massive explosion on its hands.
If it explodes, there will be many future prototypes to iron out the kinks. Spectators with a can already noticed leg skirts for a prototype called SN20.
READ MORE: Elon Musk explains why the Starship SN10 prototype exploded after landing [Gizmodo]
More about Starship: SpaceX has just rolled out its next Starship protocol on the road
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