Лента.ру1 hour agoTech2 min readRussia

Starship explodes on splashdown after first orbital flight

Quick Look

SpaceX's Starship exploded on splashdown after a successful first orbital flight.
The ship assumed a vertical position and began to descend into the ocean, but after the engines sank, an explosion occurred with the formation of a fiery mushroom.
SpaceX attributed the explosion to the design of the craft, which was not designed for landing in cold water, and said it did not indicate a mission failure.

AI-generated summary

Why It Matters

Starship is a reusable spacecraft developed by SpaceX and the second stage of the Super Heavy launch vehicle. The first flight of Starship and Super Heavy on April 20, 2023 ended in failure, the first successful suborbital flight took place on March 14, 2024.

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American billionaire Elon Musk's SpaceX Starship exploded during landing on water after its first orbital flight.

The device successfully assumed a vertical position and began to descend into the ocean. However, when its engines disappeared into the depths, an explosion occurred. A fiery mushroom appeared above the water and fragments of the Starship flew up.

SpaceX clarified that the explosion was caused by splashdown, since the ship is not designed for landing in cold water, ABC TV reported. The corporation assured that this outcome was not a sign of problem or mission failure.

What is known about Starship?

Starship is a reusable spacecraft developed by SpaceX, and the second stage of the super-heavy launch vehicle of the same name. Used in combination with the Super Heavy first stage for takeoff from Earth only. The vehicle is designed to transport cargo and crew to a variety of destinations, including low Earth orbit, the Moon, Mars and possibly beyond.

The first flight of Starship and Super Heavy, which took place on April 20, 2023, ended in failure. The first successful suborbital flight took place on March 14, 2024.

The length of the ship reaches 50 meters, the diameter is nine meters and consists of four main compartments: an engine compartment equipped with three atmospheric and three vacuum Raptor engines, an oxygen tank, a methane tank and a payload compartment.

Plans related to Starship

Elon Musk said that SpaceX, using the Starship reusable transport system, will deliver up to 10 million tons of cargo per year into low-Earth orbit. According to the billionaire, the company currently launches about 2.5 tons of cargo into space annually.

Musk also called the successful operation of Starship rockets a major goal for the coming years. According to the billionaire, the launch vehicle will be the “holy grail of rocketry.” He emphasized the paramount importance of the stable launch of the Starship project.

The entrepreneur admitted that ten years ago he was sure of the failure of at least one of the projects - Starship or Starlink.

What to Watch

AI outlook — possibilities, not facts

SpaceX will analyze the cause of the explosion and make modifications to the Starship design for future flights
Very likely · Within weeks
The next orbital flight of Starship will take place after the design is finalized based on the analysis of this incident.
Likely · Within months

Open Questions

How exactly did Starship's design cause it to explode on splashdown in cold water?
What modifications does SpaceX plan to make to the ship's design to prevent such incidents?
How will this incident affect Starship's future orbital flight schedule?