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SpaceX's Starship explodes in flight test
#1
more chuckling and pointing as they kiss ass at the inauguration together

SpaceX's Starship explodes in flight test
https://www.reuters.com/technology/space...025-01-16/

WASHINGTON, Jan 16 (Reuters) - A SpaceX Starship rocket broke up in space minutes after launching from Texas on Thursday, forcing airline flights over the Gulf of Mexico to alter course to avoid falling debris and setting back Elon Musk's flagship rocket program.


SpaceX mission control lost contact with the newly upgraded Starship, carrying its first test payload of mock satellites but no crew, eight minutes after liftoff from its South Texas rocket facilities at 5:38 p.m. EST (2238 GMT).

Video shot by Reuters showed orange balls of light streaking across the sky over the Haitian capital of Port-au-Prince, leaving trails of smoke behind.

"We did lose all communications with the ship - that is essentially telling us we had an anomaly with the upper stage," SpaceX Communications Manager Dan Huot said, confirming minutes later that the ship was lost.

The last time a Starship upper stage failed was in March last year, as it was reentering Earth's atmosphere over the Indian Ocean, but rarely has a SpaceX mishap caused widespread disruptions to air traffic.

Dozens of commercial flights diverted to other airports or altered course to avoid potential debris, according to flight tracking website FlightRadar24. Departures from airports in Miami and Fort Lauderdale, Florida, were also delayed by about 45 minutes, it added.

The Federal Aviation Administration, which regulates private launch activities, said it had briefly slowed and diverted planes around the area where space debris was falling, but normal operations had since resumed.

The FAA regularly closes airspace for space launches and reentries, but it can create a "debris response area" to prevent aircraft from entering if the space vehicle experiences an anomaly outside the originally closed zone.

SpaceX CEO Musk posted a video on X showing the debris field and said: "Success is uncertain, but entertainment is guaranteed!"
The failure came a day after Blue Origin, billionaire Amazon founder Jeff Bezos' space company, successfully launched its giant New Glenn rocket into orbit for the first time.
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#2
Somehow I wish that Elon and fELON were in it.
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#3
Somehow I wish Joe Biden and, oh, I don't know, Sen. Adam Schiff were in it.

You brought it up. again.
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#4
Big Bada Boom
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#5
“He blowed up.”

“He blowed up real good.”

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#6
Starship suffered an RUD, a rapid, unscheduled disassembly.

Oops !!!
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#7
This was a 2nd version of Starship that had design changes. Apparently there was an O2 leak between the O2 tank and the bulkhead that was significant enough to exceed the capacity of the vents in that area. I don't know if they initiated the auto-destruct or if it handled that, um, autonomously. The question needs to be asked though if they should initiate an autodestruct sequence. If the ship is otherwise intact and still has the ability to self de-orbit is it better to direct it in 1 piece over the ocean than to create a debris field of stainless steel near populated Caribbean islands.
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#8
Well that should delay it being "man-rated" a bit!
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#9
This thing is very far away from being man rated. It’s a complete rewrite of rocket technology. As such it will take some time before the design is proven and matured.
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#10
The FAA was somewhat displeased with debris falling in the paths of planes.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O_CnuIJWLJU

But I wouldn't be surprised if Elon finds some way to have this fully resolved by sometime on Monday afternoon.
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