SpaceX Starship rocket nearly completed an entire test flight on its third try on Thursday, but broke apart just during re-entry above the Indian Ocean. The camera that was on Starship stopped sending signals after T+50.
Two earlier flights had also ended in destruction.
The Starship program is developing a fully reusable launch system unlike any other. The colossal Starship vehicle, standing at a staggering 397 feet (121 meters), holds the title of the world’s largest and most powerful rocket ever built. It dwarfs even NASA’s current and past moon rockets. The system is comprised of two parts: the immense Super Heavy booster that provides the initial thrust for launch with its 33 Raptor engines, and the sleek Starship spacecraft itself, which uses its own six Raptor engines for manoeuvring in space.
As SpaceX founder chairman Elon Musk put it, At 5000 tons, ‘Starship is the largest flying object ever made.’
SpaceX conducted two Starship test flights in 2023, both ending with the destruction of the rocket. The first launch in April experienced engine malfunctions and an incomplete separation of the Starship from the booster, leading to a controlled destruct. The November flight achieved several important milestones, including a successful engine burn and separation, but unfortunately, the Super Heavy booster broke apart during its descent.
These setbacks, however, didn’t dampened SpaceX’s determination. Engineers meticulously analyzed the data from the previous flights and implemented numerous improvements and fixes to the Starship system.
The success of Starship is critical for NASA’s Artemis program, which aims to return humans to the moon by the mid-2020s. Starship is envisioned to be the lunar lander for the first few missions, carrying astronauts down to the lunar surface. A successful Starship program would mark a new era of human space exploration, driven by the visionary goals of Elon Musk, SpaceX’s CEO. Musk has long advocated for colonizing Mars and views Starship as a key element in achieving that objective.
SpaceX’s Starship development and launch activities take place in Boca Chica, Texas. This location has drawn scrutiny from environmental groups concerned about the potential impact of rocket launches and explosions on the surrounding wildlife habitats. Endangered species like the Kemp’s Ridley sea turtle are a particular cause for concern. Legal challenges have been filed against SpaceX, highlighting the need to balance technological advancement with environmental responsibility.
This third test flight, with its ambitious goal of traveling halfway around the world before landing in the Indian Ocean, is still a major leap forward for SpaceX’s Starship program.
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In a career spanning three decades and counting, Ramananda (Ram to his friends) has been the foreign editor of The Telegraph, Outlook Magazine and the New Indian Express. He helped set up rediff.com’s editorial operations in San Jose and New York, helmed sify.com, and was the founder editor of India.com.
His work has featured in national and international publications like the Al Jazeera Centre for Studies, Global Times and Ashahi Shimbun. But his one constant over all these years, he says, has been the attempt to understand rising India’s place in the world.
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