SpaceX catches its colossal Starship rocket at launch pad — but spacecraft is destroyed

NY Post ^ | 1/16/25 | Allie Griffin

[Libloather]

Pics & video @ the link.

[Yo-Yo]

https://www.space.com/space-exploration/private-spaceflight/spacex-starship-explosion-likely-caused-by-propellant-leak-elon-musk-says

"Preliminary indication is that we had an oxygen/fuel leak in the cavity above the ship engine firewall that was large enough to build pressure in excess of the vent capacity."

[Jonty30]

Win some and lose some.

[MMusson]

The largest conventional firework ever detonated. Wow

[Da Coyote]

Still, that second rocket parallel parking job was even neater than the first one. And it sounds as if they’re already onto the cause of the second stage loss.

[CTyank]

In other words, it blew up.

[Skwor]

I think this is the type of loss that will be a big win in the end, they still recovered the booster and a lot will be learned from the failure with no lives lost.

A smart man would see this as in investment and not a loss, Musk is a smart man.

[Jonty30]

I agree. His strategy of being willing to destroy rockets to improve was the right one.

[Blennos]

A clarification. The fully stacked ship, including the booster, is 400 ft. The starship itself, essentially the 2nd stage, which exploded, is approximately 170 ft in height.

[rarestia]

It was the maiden flight of block 2, so there are going to be growing pains. I’m certain they got scads of data to pore over.

[salmon76]

In other words, it blew up.

No, it was an "unscheduled rapid disassembly". :-)

[mjp]

wishing -> wanting -> planning -> doing -> failure -> feedback -> goto wanting

[ChuckHam]

No, the Challenger was the biggest. May those astronauts RIP.

[Yo-Yo]

Here are some ground views of the explosion, and ATC audio of the resulting disruptions to to air traffic in the Caribbean caused by falling debris:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w6hIXB62bUE

[Jonty30]

Very pretty.

[central_va]

He needs to import more indentured H-1B visa foreigners to work for Space-X. That's the ticket.

[central_va]

A savant from South Africa comes to America and hires indentured H-1B foreigners to build rockets that most people don't care about, EVs that most don't want and I should give a crap?

Using his own words he can "go f his own face".

[montag813]

I don’t like this chopsticks method. I certainly wouldn’t want to bet my life on it if I were landing in a starship.

[RoosterRedux]

Exactly right. It’s the cost of doing business in space.

[Ruy Dias de Bivar]

I still remember the failures of the US Space program in the early 1960s.