SpaceX SN8 flew high and landed hard.
SpaceX Video Capture / CNET
Elon Musk Starship SN8 prototype, Buck Rogers may have been reminded of something that fell firmly and quietly from the Texas skies for about two minutes on Wednesday. Then its Raptor engines roared to life, turning the rocket in the ical direction in preparation for the landing, but it was too short or too late – or maybe some of both.
A few moments and a spectacular explosion, SpaceX’s latest next generation rocket prototype Followed its first successful high-itude high-altitude flight with a hard landing that is sure to be an instant member of GIF and a meme hall of fame.
SN8 breathes before completing the final, fiery fate.
SpaceX Video Capture / CNET
Elon Musk, founder of SpaceX, who has long warned that such a “rapid skeletal dissociation” is possible, is in the happy public, but for more technical reasons than the main ones.
“Successful climbing, switchover on header tanks and precise flop control at landing points!” He wrote on Twitter. “Fuel header tank pressure was low during the landing burn, which led to higher touchdown speeds and RUDs, but we got all the data we needed. SpaceX team hell yes! Congratulations.
The fuel header tank pressure was low during the landing burn, causing more touchdown speeds and RUDs, but we got the data we needed! Congratulations SpaceX team hell yes!
– Elon Musk (elonmusk) December 9, 2020
SpaceX’s latest Starship Iteration finally picked up its launch pad at 2:45 p.m. Wednesday. The previous attempt on Tuesday was abandoned with only one second left due to an issue with the torque engine.
Within minutes of Wednesday’s flight, one of the three Raptor engines stopped firing. According to Musk, Each shutdown was intentional and “the engines did well.” The rocket continued to fly towards planned peaks of eight miles (12.5 kilometers) as part of its first high-altitude test flight.
SN8 in flight.
SpaceX Video Capture / CNET
After about four minutes in flight, the second engine stopped and the craft continued for a while until the final Raptor shut down and the SNA began its free fall to Earth. As it approached the ground, the raptors and thrusters around the rocket were used to flip the maneuver, and in preparation for the landing burn we made a habit of looking to direct it in the vertic direction. With the company’s small Falcon 9 rocket.
That burning SN8 didn’t slow down fast enough or quickly enough as it came for a rough and explosive landing.
Significantly, the wreckage showed that it hit in the middle of the landing pad. You can watch the full spectacular explosion on CNET Highlights below, our YouTube channel with all the best tech, scope and science clips from live events around the world. Hit the subscribe button!
The test brings the Flight Starship closer to Mars than it did before, but there is still a long way to go.
SpaceX previously wrote, “This subrobital flight was designed to test a number of objectives, including how the vehicle’s three raptor engines perform, and the vehicle’s overall aerodynamic penetration capabilities, including its body flux, and how the vehicle handles propellant transitions.” Is. ” Week.
Musk and SpaceX continue to upgrade the company’s next-generation rocket with the goal of taking thousands of Earthlings to Mars, the Moon and other locations.
In the last 18 months, a handful in short Test flights or “hops,” Boca Chika, Texas, has seen some prototypes lift pads, rise to an altitude of about 50,000 feet (1 meter0 meters) and then come down for a soft landing.
Hops has had significant success so far, combined with some dramatic Ground test failures Along the way.
Next, SpaceX plans to build a second prototype, the SN9, and work towards the first orbital flight.
