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 ...
I saw a lot of debris kicking up when StarShip launched, so I wonder how much damage the launch pad suffered?
Was this an obsolete launch pad? They have lots of those at the Kennedy Space Center
They need a flame diverter and a water flush system. Other than that, it was a great flight
The first attempts of NASA to send up missiles for manned operatons were met with spectacular blow-ups on the launching pad, exploding just as it cleares the gantry, tail-spins in the clouds, etc. Videos are very interestng. But they learned from each launch.
Amazing. I thought that Baghdad Bob was dead, nut nooooo.....!
No, this is a brand-new launch complex facility that SpaceX built in Boca Chica, Texas, where Starship is built and where this launch occurred.
Amazing. I thought that Baghdad Bob was dead, but nooooo.....!
My uninformed guess is that it was the debris kicked up from under the launch pad that damaged the engines and that the damage to the engines lead to the second stage separation failure.
My bad. The video was referring to control at Kennedy
All that reaction force pushed the Earth slightly out of normal orbit.
Now, did that increase or decrease Climate Change?
You want to do us a favor Bill? Scrub Artemis and help Musk get to Mars, launching cargo late 2024, late 2026, and then the manned mission late 2028.
Maybe I was hearing wrong too
Nap time
Yes and now Texas can say the worlds biggest rocket launched from there. Even if it did have a little RUD event later in the flight...
How Texas, huh?
It ain’t the launch that’ll get ya. It’s the sudden rapid disassembly during flight. And nelson couldn’t be a decent chef let alone chief of nasa. 🚀
A lot. The exhaust blew a gigantic crater under the launch stand and threw pieces of debris all over the launch site. I will not be shocked if/when they discover that pieces of debris hit and damaged the bottom of the booster.
It burned several ounces of fuel.
They already know most of what happened.
When one of the engines blew it blew up the hydraulic pump which controlled the 2nd stage locks. It’s the orange flame that bursts out from an engine during ascent. No hydraulic pressure, no stage lock release.
And look no further to the Soviet N1 for the fluid dynamic issues which likely caused the multiple engine failures.
his spirit lives on
NASA’s launch of the first Saturn V was a tour de force. First time all the components were launched. And it succeeded very nearly flawlessly.
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