SpaceX conducted a new flight test of its Super Heavy rocket and Starship prototypes, launched from its base in Boca Chica, Texas. This is the second test involving the entire system of Elon Musk’s company which is supposed to revolutionize space travel with an unprecedented transport capacity and being totally reusable. In this case, however, they are prototypes with the Super Heavy identified as Booster 9 and the Starship identified as Starship 25 or Ship25 or simply S25. Despite the upgrades, they don’t have the safety requirements required to conduct controlled landings. After the first test conducted on April 20, many changes were made to the Super Heavy and Starship systems but also to the launch pad.
The test on April 20 showed the potential of the launch system under development but also the problems that these prototypes can have, in this case, culminating in the explosion about 4 minutes after the start. Elon Musk’s philosophy has always been to show the developments of his rockets, including test failures. It took months to implement upgrades that included the demands from the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) to give permission for a new test.
During the first test, the launch pad suffered a lot of damage due to the power released by the Super Heavy’s engines, even if some of the 33 that were supposed to make it blast off didn’t work. The pad was strengthened and a water system was added which aims to absorb some of the vibrations and heat generated by the engines.
The main problem, which led to the explosion of Booster 7 and Starship 24 at the end of the first test, was the failure of the separation system. As a consequence, the Starship remained connected to the Super Heavy, preventing the test continuation. For this new test, the system was significantly modified.
Today’s blastoff went well and all Booster 9’s engines worked. The launch pad appears to have not suffered any obvious damage but subsequent assessments will be necessary to have certain data. The separation of Starship 25 was also a success, considered by far the most important of this test. From here on, the problems arrived.
Booster 9 was supposed to perform the maneuvers to splash down using the central ring’s Raptor engines. However, some of them failed to reignite, compromising its structural integrity. It’s the reason why Booster 9 exploded shortly after separation.
Starship 25 continued its ascent reaching nearly 150 kilometers of altitude, the first to actually reach space. However, the mission control center lost contact with the Starship and could not restore it. Already during the live broadcast, they stated that some problems had probably led to the triggering of the automatic destruction system.
The details of what happened to Booster 8 and Starship 25 are yet to come but SpaceX’s statements are very positive, particularly for the successful separation. The success remains partial due to the loss of the vehicles, which, however, are still prototypes. Elon Musk’s hope is to be able to proceed more quickly with new tests but this requires the FAA to give the necessary permissions without conducting lengthy investigations or asking for other major upgrades.
