SpaceX (Vol. 2)
Discussion
Caruso said:
Beati Dogu said:
They were talking on the SpaceX commentary about the load that hot staging created on the booster, but to me the explosion started at the other end.
Agreed, it seemed to start towards the top at what I'm guessing is the junction between fuel and oxidiser tanks?
As SM says appears to be fuel starvation in the engines causing major issues, which likely triggered the FTS, but SpaceX haven't confirmed it.
Hammersia said:
I'm sure that's a new dent, they roughly straightened it out last time but it was better than that lol
My theory with the dent is that it looks (from memory) like the dent they had first time and they popped that one out. It’s the same as when you pop the dent on a car panel - you can pop the dent back in with very light pressure - in this case the shockwave. Time will tell. Other than that the actual mechanics of the flight were almost flawless - launch (with all the new support infrastructure), ascent with all 33 Raptors running (that was a big surprise), partial engine shutdown in groups of 5 (that looks so cool in slow mo), hot staging, flip, and Starship separation and continued ascent. All of those were textbook perfect. Absolutely incredible.
If the second stage had just carried on burning for another 20-30s it would have been an almost total success.
But to read the MSM and comments from the uninformed you’d have thought that the whole thing was a total disaster. It really depresses me how stupid people can be - articles full of errors, what surely must be deliberate misinterpretation of facts and incorrect conclusions. These science correspondents are risible. A disgrace.
Anyway - onwards and upwards. What a spectacle that was - hopefully more footage and maybe some onboard to come. Truly I would say that that was the most important flight in the history of human space endeavours - as Musk sad - “a fork in the road”.
Oh - and because we got a successful stage sep I got to drink my bottle of champagne with a Starship on it. Been waiting since 2021
If the BBC is considered MSM then I this is a pretty fair/positive article
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-674...
Gargamel said:
If the BBC is considered MSM then I this is a pretty fair/positive article
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-674...
Yep I read that one after I’d posted - nevertheless it’s a pretty rare article, lost in an ocean of idiocy. https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-674...
Dog Star said:
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If the second stage had just carried on burning for another 20-30s it would have been an almost total success.
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Looks like the O2 tank ruptured somehow, my guess is over pressurised due to the Autogenous pressurization, but will wait to see if SpaceX reveals the reason.If the second stage had just carried on burning for another 20-30s it would have been an almost total success.
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Just been watching a video flyover by RGV and Elon has just tweeted some photos of the OLM and plate - I have to say that it all looks in generally fantastic condition; far better than I even dreamed it would. Corrugated roof ripped off, little hat on top of a tank fell off and a linkage on the QD broken.
That’s going to be great from the FAA and fish peoples point of view.
That’s going to be great from the FAA and fish peoples point of view.
Dog Star said:
Just been watching a video flyover by RGV and Elon has just tweeted some photos of the OLM and plate - I have to say that it all looks in generally fantastic condition; far better than I even dreamed it would. Corrugated roof ripped off, little hat on top of a tank fell off and a linkage on the QD broken.
That’s going to be great from the FAA and fish peoples point of view.
That insane burst on ignition was something incredible to see.That’s going to be great from the FAA and fish peoples point of view.
So many incredible visuals from this test - and what a staggeringly brilliant step forward it was.
Another good Scott Manley video about the launch: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hF2C7xE9Mj4
annodomini2 said:
Ok thanks, shame 
GTO-3R said:
LivLL said:
Elon put it on X. No idea if it's real though but if not it's a bloody good render!Oops, edited to see that it is in fact a render
The real hot staging pics look even more impressive IMO.
CrutyRammers said:
Yeah it's CGI. Getting community noted on your own social media platform for posting a CGI image of your own rocket as a real pic is perhaps the perfect parable for our time.
The real hot staging pics look even more impressive IMO.
Such a shame you can't trust anything being real anymore.The real hot staging pics look even more impressive IMO.
Anyone know what the final destination of the Starship was? Did it just burn up to nothing or will there be large chunks in the Ocean somewhere that may be recoverable to analyse failure?
They won’t be recovering, or even trying to recover, anything.
I am assuming that there will be the usual onboard footage available to SpaceX, and later perhaps to the public. Not sure why we didn’t get any in the webcast, although what we saw was excellent anyway.
And not forgetting the chase plane shots, though I suspect there may be a classified aspect to some of those.
I am assuming that there will be the usual onboard footage available to SpaceX, and later perhaps to the public. Not sure why we didn’t get any in the webcast, although what we saw was excellent anyway.
And not forgetting the chase plane shots, though I suspect there may be a classified aspect to some of those.
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