Click here to log in with
or
Forgot Password?
Learn more
February 2, 2021
A prototype SpaceX rocket the company hopes will one day crash to Mars in a fiery explosion when attempting to land upright after a test flight Tuesday.
googletag.cmd.push (function () {googletag.display (‘div-gpt-ad-1449240174198-2’);});
It was the second such explosion after the last Starship prototype suffered a similar fate in December.
« We had another great flight, » a SpaceX spokesperson said of live footage broadcast online Company founder Elon Musk was unusually quiet on social media after announcing the night before that he was « off Twitter for a while. »
The stainless steel rocket known as the SN9 was used by the US -American Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) for takeoff from Boca Chica, Texas, which previously delayed approval after it was discovered that SpaceX’s last launch was in violation of their license terms.
The The rocket launched smoothly around 3:30 p.m. local time (2030 GMT) and gradually shut down its engines as it reached an altitude of 10 kilometers. It then performed a series of test maneuvers in a horizontal « belly flop » position.
When the missile attempted to return to a vertical position for landing, problems began. The footage showed it arrived way too fast and at a bad angle.
It landed with a deafening bang and exploded into bright orange flames and a cloud of dust, but the fire didn’t spread.
The takeoff Tuesday was delayed by several days due to issues arising from SpaceX’s final spacecraft test on December 9th, which also went up in flames.
SpaceX had requested a waiver to reduce the maximum risk allowed for the Starship SN8 public to exceed.
The FAA denied the request, but SpaceX went ahead anyway and landed the company in hot water.
The regulator denied SpaceX the opportunity to launch last week, demanding it to take corrective action to finally give their approval on Monday evening.
The company hopes that the reusable missile system, which rises to 120 meters, e one day will carry crew and cargo to the moon, Mars and beyond.
© 2021 AFP
Thank you for taking the time to send your valued opinions to the Science X editors.
You can be sure that our editors closely monitor any feedback sent and take appropriate action. Your opinions are important to us.
We do not guarantee individual answers due to the extremely high volume of correspondence.
Your email address will only be used to let the recipient know who sent the email. Neither your address nor the address of the recipient will be used for any other purpose.
The information you entered will appear in your email message and will not be stored in any form by Phys.org.
Receive weekly and / or daily updates in your inbox.
You can unsubscribe at any time and we will never pass your data on to third parties.
This website uses cookies to aid navigation, analyze your use of our services and provide content from third parties.
By using our website, you confirm that you have read and understood our privacy policy
and terms of use.
Ref: https://phys.org
