An initially successful launch, before disappointment. This Saturday, November 18, the scientific and aerospace world had its eyes fixed on Texas and the Boca Chica base for the second Starship launch test. This rocket, the largest and most powerful ever built, must be the masterpiece of Space X and Elon Musk, in particular in order to relaunch NASA’s programs towards the Moon.
The rocket took off at 2 p.m. Paris time, before exploding a few minutes later. If the failure is far from being as bitter as during the first attempt last April, where Space X had to deliberately explode the rocket after four minutes due to engine malfunctions, the result is not ideal however.
An “unplanned rapid disassembly”
This time the flight lasted almost 10 minutes, according to Reuters, much less than the 90 minutes initially planned. The test was notably able to go as far as the separation of the two stages of the rocket, between the Super Heavy propulsion stage and the Starship spacecraft, placed just above. Last October, Elon Musk explained that this phase was “the riskiest of the flight”, and Space X had already affirmed that this test would be a success if this step was taken.
However, Starship didn’t go much further. Due to an “unplanned rapid disassembly”, in the company’s words, the Super Heavy propulsion stage quickly spiraled out of control, before crashing into the Gulf of Mexico. The Starship, the most important for the company, was able to continue its journey until a little more than 10 minutes after launch, before Space X also lost control, leaving no other choice to the company than to proceed with its destruction. We are therefore still far from what must be the greatest innovation of the Starship rocket: the fact that it would be entirely reusable, the two stages being designed to eventually return to land on their launch pad, thus reducing costs.
Space X engineers still want to be positive. “We got so much data that it will help us improve for our next flight,” said Kate Tice, manager of quality systems engineering at SpaceX, during the live broadcast on the social network X (formerly Twitter), also owned by Elon Musk.
Delay on the project
This second test flight by SpaceX, the company of billionaire Elon Musk, is being closely scrutinized by NASA, which is counting on this vessel for its return missions to the Moon. For the company, the explosion of prototypes is less problematic in terms of image than it would be for NASA and its public funds, according to experts. Chaining together tests using a rapid iteration process allows it to accelerate the development of its machines.
But the development of Starship does not seem to be fast enough to match the plans of the American space agency, which has signed a contract with SpaceX. A modified version of the machine must serve as a lunar lander to place astronauts on the lunar surface for the first time since 1972. This mission, named Artemis 3, is officially planned for 2025. A date which seems, in fact, increasingly unrealistic.