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NASA chief hails SpaceX's 1st Starship launch despite explosion
Space..com ^ | Brett Tingley

Posted on 04/21/2023 10:03:18 AM PDT by aquila48

NASA leadership had a lot to say after today's explosive first test flight of SpaceX's Starship.

NASA has tapped Starship for its upcoming Artemis 3 mission, which will put astronauts back on the moon no earlier than 2025. Following that, Starship will also ferry human crews to the lunar surface and back for Artemis 4 and perhaps also Artemis 5, according to NASA's current plans.

With so much banking on the successful development of the massive stainless steel vehicle, NASA leaders took the opportunity to hail today's flight test as an important step forward in the agency's moon plans.

NASA Administrator Bill Nelson praised the launch, congratulating SpaceX and writing on Twitter(opens in new tab) that "Every great achievement throughout history has demanded some level of calculated risk, because with great risk comes great reward. Looking forward to all that SpaceX learns, to the next flight test — and beyond."

(Excerpt) Read more at space.com ...


TOPICS: Business/Economy; Extended News; News/Current Events
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To: RedElement

Different philosophies: NASA dots all the “i”s and crosses all the “t”s making launch a very very expensive time consuming proposition.

SpaceX tests-to-failure. Failures are expected and welcomed. This is how the bugs are removed - just look at Falcon - flawless

StarShip is an entirely new concept, new motors, and design. When all the bugs are worked out of it in the next 5-10 years, it will revolutionize space flight.


41 posted on 04/21/2023 12:08:05 PM PDT by PIF (They came for me and mine ... now its your turn)
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To: PIF

NASA is derived from the 1960s Space Race.

Suppose the first launch of Saturn V had not gone well ... That would have been propaganda gold for the USSR. That could not be allowed.


42 posted on 04/21/2023 12:10:01 PM PDT by NorthMountain (... the right of the peopIe to keep and bear arms shall not be infringed)
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To: aquila48

NASA’s “race to the moon” is what is slow motion.

NASA now says “no earlier than 2025”.

First it was was 2020.

Then 2023.

Then 2024.

Then 2025.

Now “no earlier than 2025”.

Prediction—they can’t get it done by 2030.


43 posted on 04/21/2023 12:20:20 PM PDT by cgbg (Claiming that laws and regs that limit “hate speech” stop freedom of speech is “hate speech”.)
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To: Bryan24

At liftoff, the engines are only operating at 70% throttle. This means that, theoretically, they could lift off with only 22 engines (albeit with no margin for error). However, as the rocket flies, the margin increases quickly as propellant is expended and the atmosphere thins. By the time they were down to 25 or 26 engines on yesterday’s flight, they likely only needed 10 or so to achieve their desired speed and altitude. So at all times, yesterday, they appeared to have the engine power needed to fulfill their mission parameters. That several failed, while sub-optimal, can not be used as evidence of failure for that phase of flight.


44 posted on 04/21/2023 12:23:37 PM PDT by Sasha_S (Inside every progressive is a totalitarian yearning to be set loose)
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To: odawg

As a child of the 50s, I was fascinated by the space race. One of the iconic comments during this time was “Why do ours always blow-up?”

Back then, NASA was run by rocket scientists with little liberal arts minions handling the menial tasks. But then, the rocket scientists either retired or died, and the minions took over.

NASA went from a “Can-Do” engineering department to a “Can’t Do” bureaucracy.

SpaceX is a “Can-Do” engineering firm. They will lead the way to space.


45 posted on 04/21/2023 12:30:07 PM PDT by Redleg Duke (“Who is John Galt?”)
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To: Sasha_S

I think you have it exactly right. Amazing the ship got as far as it did given the possible debris damage it suffered at liftoff. To my mind, the test was quite a success. They got far more correct than wrong. I imagine the SpaceX engineers are working on a new launch pad design even as I write this. Additionally, the ship was robust enough to spin around several times, still fuel laden, and not break up.

They had already decided to use electric actuators on future tests rather than hydraulic ones for the stage release mechanism. No more hydraulic pumps in the lower tail which are a common source of failure. In short, SpaceX had a good test.


46 posted on 04/21/2023 12:32:17 PM PDT by Blennos
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To: Bryan24

This was the very first orbital launch for a brand new spacecraft thats the most powerful ever built. There were no expectations other than to gather data. You don’t put together the first car in existence and expect it to go on an intercontinental trip the very first time you turn it on. The Starship launch reaching the stage it did instead of blowing up immediately was a success if it went further than that then great but that was never a requirement. SpaceX has always operated this way of iterating fast without the traditional excessive worry for prototype failure since they can learn from it. The Libtards are trying to cast this as a fiasco because they hate Musk politically.


47 posted on 04/21/2023 12:33:42 PM PDT by jarwulf
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To: jarwulf
This was the very first orbital launch

Not even that. They had no intent to put anything in orbit. The plan, if it got that far, was a suborbital lob of the Starship test article into the Pacific Ocean near Hawaii.

because they hate Musk politically.

THIS!

48 posted on 04/21/2023 12:38:30 PM PDT by NorthMountain (... the right of the peopIe to keep and bear arms shall not be infringed)
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To: NorthMountain

NASA is derived from the 1960s Space Race.


Remember it well. NASA was created in 1958.


49 posted on 04/21/2023 12:50:21 PM PDT by PIF (They came for me and mine ... now its your turn)
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To: PIF
Remember it well.

Likewise. Age helps with perspective.

50 posted on 04/21/2023 12:55:17 PM PDT by NorthMountain (... the right of the peopIe to keep and bear arms shall not be infringed)
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To: Yo-Yo
Reinforced concrete below the SpaceX rocket launch … it was not strong enough.

Woah!

51 posted on 04/21/2023 12:59:09 PM PDT by McGruff (Don't underestimate Joe's ability to f*** things up - Barack Obama)
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To: McGruff

WOW! Great find!


52 posted on 04/21/2023 12:59:30 PM PDT by Yo-Yo (Is the /Sarc tag really necessary? Pray for President Biden: Psalm 109:8)
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To: PIF
Remember it well. NASA was created in 1958.

I was created in 1958, but I wasn't delivered until April of 1959...

53 posted on 04/21/2023 1:00:19 PM PDT by Yo-Yo (Is the /Sarc tag really necessary? Pray for President Biden: Psalm 109:8)
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To: Yo-Yo

I was created in 1958, but I wasn’t delivered until April of 1959...

Youngster!!!


54 posted on 04/21/2023 1:01:41 PM PDT by PIF (They came for me and mine ... now its your turn)
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To: PIF

Right. A starship flight costs about 1/700th the price of a Saturn V launch, adjusted for inflation.

NASA could not take chances like a private company can. Congress will pull funding (or threaten to) if there are spectacular failures. Musk just says, that was interesting, try it again.


55 posted on 04/21/2023 1:16:40 PM PDT by DarrellZero
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To: Yo-Yo

LOTS of damage under the orbital launch mount, and the launch tower. the road to the beach is closed due to debris on the road.

watching a nasaspaceflight.com stream post flight damage right on youtube.


56 posted on 04/21/2023 2:07:55 PM PDT by markman46 (engage brain before using keyboard!!!)
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To: conejo99
no the engines do a staggered start to full power, booster seemed to do a power slide off the pad.
57 posted on 04/21/2023 2:17:11 PM PDT by markman46 (engage brain before using keyboard!!!)
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To: Sasha_S; Bryan24
By the time they were down to 25 or 26 engines on yesterday’s flight, they likely only needed 10 or so to achieve their desired speed and altitude.

Sasha - right. However, it can be a problem depending on which engines are not igniting. The engines opposite the failed ones can be throttled up, but can potentially unbalance the craft. Another problem would be if the center engines fail and affect gymbaled thrust of the craft. A lot of this is probably automatically taken care of by computers, but can they account for all scenarios? Anyway, SpaceX will figure it out for the next test or two, and they likely will not attempt bringing them back to land for a while, maybe another year.

58 posted on 04/21/2023 2:20:35 PM PDT by roadcat
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To: Yo-Yo

That looks like a residential home and auto damaged. wtf! Can’t they plan better than that? Baaaad publicity & probably a lawsuit or certainly damages to pay out.


59 posted on 04/21/2023 2:20:42 PM PDT by citizen (Put all LBQTwhatever programming on a new subscription service: PERV-TV)
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To: Bryan24

7 to 8 engines failed during flight and possible blew out the apu. during flight you can see the engines fail.

remember there are 33 engines.


60 posted on 04/21/2023 2:20:47 PM PDT by markman46 (engage brain before using keyboard!!!)
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