SpaceX, Starship test launch... ‘Recovery of the first and second stages of the spacecraft’ failed

Space

Bloomberg and the Associated Press reported on the afternoon of the 13th (local time) that SpaceX conducted the 15th Starship test launch at the Starbase launch site in Texas, USA.

This flight was the first attempt at 'double catch', which involves recovering not only the first stage propellant but also the upper second stage.

Until now, SpaceX has recovered the first stage propellant that separated in the atmosphere, but has never recovered the second stage that was launched into space.

So far, only the first stage of SpaceX's Falcon 9 has been recovered, and only parts of NASA's space shuttles, including the second stage, have returned to Earth.

For this reason, there were high expectations that if the test flight was successful, the world's first fully reusable rocket would be created and the cost of the spacecraft launch process would be significantly reduced.

Elon Musk said in a video interview with investors last week, "When I first proposed this idea to the team, everyone looked at me like I was crazy," and emphasized, "But from a physics perspective, there is nothing stopping it."

However, on this day, the first stage propellant fell into the Gulf of Mexico and exploded after launch, preventing the world's first double recovery record from being set.

Starship's second stage successfully placed 26 Starlink satellites into orbit and is scheduled to return to Earth and attempt a landing about a day later.

When the second stage returns to the launch pad, recovery is accomplished by having a mechanical arm installed on the tower wrap around the spacecraft and hold it.

The market expressed disappointment over the failure of SpaceX's attempt. SpaceX shares fell 1.2% in after-hours trading.

Space

However, the ultimate goal is to replace it with Starship, which is a large rocket.

Starship is scheduled to launch in Florida within a few months, and in Louisiana within a few years.