There was a loud noise and fire, Musk’s spaceship suddenly exploded! How difficult is it for humans to get to Mars? _ Eastern Fortune Network

Original caption: Netizens around the world watched, there was a loud noise and fire, and Musk’s spaceship suddenly exploded! How difficult is it for humans to get to Mars?

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After being temporarily suspended twice during the countdown to launch, at 5:45 a.m. Beijing time on Thursday, space explorationthe companySpaceX is finally in South TexastestChina successfully launched the large-scale interstellar spacecraft SN8.

The spacecraft successfully lifted about 13 kilometers, but in the final stage of the descent process, due to a problem with the fuel system, it crashed and “became a ball of fire.” Fortunately, the spaceship was not transporting anyone.

This is the first time the SpaceX spacecraft has conducted a high-altitude flight test mission. Although it failed to make a soft landing, Musk said: “We have all the data we need.”

Under SpaceX’s plan, about 20 prototypes will be tested before the spacecraft is finally formed. All iterations will be completed in 3 years. Currently, there are SN9, SN10 and SN11 under construction.

Although Musk’s view of SpaceX’s manned landing on Mars in 2026 remainstrust“However, CNN said that SpaceX has a long way to go before it can build a usable spacecraft.

　　Crashed as expected

SN8 is an early development model of Starship. In “SN8”, “SN” means serial number, which means serial number, the number 8 refers to the eighth prototype in the Starship series.

According to CNN, according to Musk’s vision, the 50-meter-tall starship will be used in the future.transportA large number of satellites enter Earth’s orbit, allowing people to move between cities at extremely high speeds and ultimately helping humans establish a base on Mars. Musk hopes that one day this technology could send the first humans to Mars.

Image source:Twitter

This flight test created the highest flight record of the prototype spacecraft so far, and the result of the crash and combustion is also expected. Musk tried to get downpublicExpectations, in aTwitterEn, predicted that the “SN8” spacecraft will have a 1/3 chance of returning to earth safely.

SN8 returned as plannedobjectivesThe landing site, but according to Musk, a problem with the rocket’s fuel system caused the crash. The landing site was near the coastal city of Boca Chica, Texas, and after the SN8 crash, the landing site was engulfed by green and yellow flames.

According to CNN,SpaceX and Musk are optimistic about problems in early development of new astronautical technologyattitudeThe spirit of this company is to act fast and learn from mistakes, not like NASA, which will move slowly through research and ground testing before putting the rocket on the launch pad.。

After the SN8 crash, Musk said on social media that the spacecraft “during landing, the fuel tank pressure was too low, causing the speed of fall and accidental disintegration, but we got all the data we need! Congratulations to SpaceX. “team！ “

Image source:Twitter

Prior to this launch, SN8 had two test flight attempts, but they were all suspended during the countdown phase, which is not common in rocket launches. This may be because the computer or flight controller found the rocket’s health to be abnormal and stopped firing, but the specific reason is unclear.

　　Will it fly to Mars in 2026?

According to The Paper, Musk said in December that he is still “very confident” that SpaceX will land manned on Mars by 2026. This goal can be achieved “within 6 years.” “If we are lucky, maybe 4 years.” “The key link to the manned landing on Mars is the” Starship “production program.

SpaceX is still producing more prototypes and has built 10 “starship” prototypes. SpaceX said SN9 is almost ready to be transferred to the launch pad.

According to CNN, SpaceX has a long way to go before it can build a usable spacecraft. So far, several prototypes built by SpaceX are used to test the performance of the spacecraft’s steel frame under pressure and to perform suborbital “jump tests” – that is, how the massive rocket engine can be controlled. The spacecraft landed smoothly and accurately after the flight.

Musk once said:Soft landingIt is necessary for the recovery and reuse of the spacecraft, including future controlled landings on the Moon and Mars.

　　Interstellar immigration is too difficult

According to Leifeng.com, in September 2017, Musk proposed the concept of a starship and plans to turn it into a next-generation launch vehicle. The definition of spacecraft given by SpaceX is:A fully reusable transportation system consisting of two parts: an interplanetary spacecraft and a super-heavy rocket, which can carry astronauts andgoodsTransport to the orbit of the Earth, the Moon, Mars and even further afield.

The spacecraft has a 100-ton payload and can carry more than 100 people for long-distance interstellar travel. In the words of SpaceX, the future spacecraft is the most powerful transmission system in the world.

Image source: wikipedia

It is the Falcon Heavy that leads the spacecraft to realize the dream of human interstellar migration.

As the world’s most powerful rocket in service, Falcon Heavy:

Low Earth Orbit (LEO) carrying capacity: 63.8 tonnes

Geosynchronous Orbit (GTO) Load Capacity: 26.7 tons

Mars orbital payload capacity: 16.8 tons

Pluto’s carrying capacity: 3.5 tons

However, the Saturn 5 carrier rocket built by NASA in the 1970s (the last launch was in 1973) still holds the record for the largest payload capacity (low Earth-orbit payload capacity of 140 tons), which lets Falcon Heavy really dominate the rocket family. It is its economy: both side thrusters will return to the launch site and the main thruster will land in the sea, greatly reducing the cost of recovery.

To send humanity into space, the spaceship is the key.

In January 2019, Musk announced that he was consideringcost, Strength, production difficulty and other factors, the spacecraft is no longer made of carbon fiber, but of stainless steel. Although the latterpriceIt is 70 times higher than the old one, but stainless steel can not only resist the possible breakdown of composite materials in the low-temperature environment of outer space, but its melting point is also high enough to avoid damage due to the high temperature when re-entering the atmosphere.WarrantyAn important part of spacecraft recycling.

In Musk’s vision, the starship is a completely reusable design, similar to a commercial airplane. To better achieve its goals, SpaceX built a starship base in Boca Chica.

As SpaceX’s only autonomous launch site, the Boca Chica base is close to the Mexican border and is sparsely populated. It is not only the southern tip of Texas, but also the southern tip of the United States after the Florida peninsula. The geographic location close to the equator means that it is cheaper to launch rockets here. fuel.

Since the official launch of the Starship project in 2019, the Boca Chica base has increasingly become a secret place where SpaceX has a vision of space.

On June 6, 2020 local time, Musk, who had just created the manned spaceflight story “Dragon Spaceship” with his team, issued an internal letter to SpaceX employees saying:

Starship is SpaceX’s top priority. (Next, focus on the starship project.)

In the open letter, he mentioned that he will continue to build the Boca Chica base, and even hopes that employees can move there to help R&D.

Although all efforts are for interstellar immigration, it is not easy to build “the strongest vehicle on the surface.”

In August 2019, the prototype Starhopper (just a part of the Starship spacecraft) successfully completed a low altitude test of 150 meters.

But then SpaceX introduced a cold water pot of the prototype:

In November 2019, the first full-scale MK1 prototypepressure testIt failed, so the MK2 and MK4 prototypes were withdrawn without testing.

In February 2020, the next-generation SN1 prototype failed the pressure test, so the SN2 prototype only tested some components.

In April 2020, the SN3 prototype failed the low temperature test.

In May 2020, the SN4 prototype exploded during testing, leaving almost no full hardware behind, and the test site was also destroyed.

What’s weird is that at 7:57 AM on August 5, 2020 Beijing time, SN5 finally successfully completed the 150-meter hover test, and SN8 was also exposed at that time.

Later on September 23, after experiencing four failures, SN7.1 exploded, but this was deliberate explosion test, the purpose is to understand and study the pressure limit that the 304L stainless steel fuel tank can withstand, and also the test flight for SN8 to prepare for.

Of course, SN8 is not a tracked version. Under SpaceX’s plan, about 20 prototypes will be tested before the spacecraft is finally formed. All iterations will be completed in 3 years. Currently SN9, SN10 and SN11 are under construction.

Musk even revealed on Twitter on November 25 that SN15 is getting a major update.

Despite the rapid iteration of the prototype, in any case, interstellar immigration is ultimately difficult.

(Source: Daily Economic News)

(Responsible editor: DF064)