Video – Explosive End of Mission for SpaceX: What Exactly Happened to the Starship Rocket?

The third test flight of SpaceX’s giant rocket ended with the spacecraft disintegrating as it returned to Earth.

The signal was lost when the starship was about 60 kilometers above the Indian Ocean, where it should have made a soft landing.

Mission (almost) accomplished! This Thursday, March 14, after just 50 minutes of flight, SpaceX’s Starship disintegrated over the Indian Ocean, where it was supposed to land in a controlled and therefore gentle manner. Previously, spacecraft had successfully re-entered Earth’s atmosphere, a maneuver known to be delicate. However, its engines did not restart as planned to slow its fall and gently land in the water. The ground crew lost the signal when the starship was at an altitude of about 60 kilometers. It is very likely that the ship burned on land and a handful of small pieces of debris fell to the bottom of the ocean.

However, there is nothing to warn the SpaceX teams about. “A starship has never flown so fast and so fast!“, during the space company’s live video, everyone laughed, the commentator. Indeed, during the last test, the ship exploded after crossing the border of space, effectively failing to reach Earth’s orbit. This time, the SpaceX spacecraft continued its ascent. 222 km At altitude, reaching a semi-orbital speed, over 26,000 km/h.During a previous test flight, the spacecraft reached 24,124 km/h after 8 minutes, before the signal was lost.

As for the propulsion stage (Super Heavy), on top of which the starship was located at the time of takeoff, it subsequently exploded a few minutes after separation (video below). In theory, it should descend and land easily using its engines and rudder in the Gulf of Mexico. Despite this incident, the space company was able to test various onboard systems, such as opening hatches to release satellites (failure) or transferring fuel (success), in preparation for future missions to the Moon. NASA wants to use a redesigned version of the starship to land its astronauts on the moon during its Artemis 3 mission, planned for 2026.

This afternoon, the US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) announced the launch of an investigation. “An incident occurred during SpaceX’s mission (Starship OFT-3) that was launched on March 14 from Boca Chica, Texas. The accident involved both a Super Heavy Booster and a Starship vehicle. The FAA will oversee SpaceX’s investigation into the accident“, declared the American Civil Aviation Regulatory Agency. This is a completely normal process when a mission ends in failure. During the investigation period, which can last for months, SpaceX will no longer be able to continue working on its development. However, time has passed. Out: The Artemis 3 mission, to land humans on the Moon, is planned for 2026.

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“Congratulations to all the teams on this wonderful day“, at the end of the flight, Gwynn Shotwell, number two at SpaceX, announced, welcoming the goals reached during the flight. For the company, the explosion of the prototype is less problematic in terms of image than it would be for NASA, which relies on public funding. By coordinating the tests according to a rapid iteration process It accelerates the development of its machines.”Sacrificing material is always better than sacrificing time“, Elon Musk announced in a speech to SpaceX employees last January. The last time, the FAA released its findings after 4 months. If this happens again, a new flight of trials may take place in 2024.