Starship Launch this AM
-
-
Today?
Link to video -
What a novel way to say it blew up.
Reminds me of an interview years ago with the late Pat Quinn who was coach of the Canadian men’s Olympic hockey Team Canada. The team was experiencing problems with an intestinal virus that was making its rounds with the players. Quinn described the situation as serious with several of his best players off the ice and suffering from “explosive lower body injuries lasting a day or two”.
-
@Renauda said in Starship Launch this AM:
What a novel way to say it blew up.
That's SpaceX's term.
The vibe I got is that they're pleased with how it went, right up to the part where the rocket blew up. Trying to put a smiling face on it saying, "We learned a lot!"
-
It's crazy it's more powerful than the Saturn V from the 1960s... which until now, was the most powerful engine/rocket EVAH. Impressive for short sleeves and pocket protectors.
Also impressive it held together during the flips. Most rockets would disintegrate after 90 degrees.
The announcers kept saying rocket separation was coming even though you could hear the nerds in the background saying "oh shit", LOL. Yes they're trying to spin it as a positive, which it teaches a lot I'm sure... but it's hard to fathom all the man (sorry, person) hours that went into everything... design, engineering, manufacturing, testing, etc.
-
-
@89th said in Starship Launch this AM:
It's crazy it's more powerful than the Saturn V from the 1960s... which until now, was the most powerful engine/rocket EVAH. Impressive for short sleeves and pocket protectors.
Also impressive it held together during the flips. Most rockets would disintegrate after 90 degrees.
The announcers kept saying rocket separation was coming even though you could hear the nerds in the background saying "oh shit", LOL. Yes they're trying to spin it as a positive, which it teaches a lot I'm sure... but it's hard to fathom all the man (sorry, person) hours that went into everything... design, engineering, manufacturing, testing, etc.
You’re assuming that all of that design, engineering, etc… is out the window… This is why they test. I’m sure it’s disappointing, but I don’t think it’s really a major setback.
-
I wonder why the crew capsule didn't separate from the rocket.
They probably have a Launch Escape System that should grab the crew capsule and fly it to safety. It looked like they had enough time to engage something like this.
Maybe they didn't have one for the test vehicle, or maybe they were too high or too far downrange.
-
1st and 2nd stages never separated.
ETA: During the live broadcast, they had a graphic showing the Raptor engines on the bottom of the 1st stage - 39 I believe. Shortly after launch, you could see that 3 or 4 were not functioning. They claim this has no effect of flight capability, but I wonder if there was some kind of cascade of failures involved.
-
Rocket Explodes on Kamala's Watch
Andrew Stiles
April 20, 2023What happened: Vice President Kamala Harris assumed command of the National Space Council in May 2021. Nearly two years later, a SpaceX next-generation Starship exploded during a test flight over Texas.
Why it matters: It's another space-related scandal for Harris, who in 2022 presided over several launch delays involving the Artemis 1, a massive new rocket NASA hopes will one day carry humans to the moon for the first time since 1972. The SpaceX Starship is also being developed with that goal in mind.
Connecting the dots: SpaceX president and COO Gwynne Shotwell has served on the National Space Council's User Advisory Group since December 2022, when Harris formally invited her to join.
Big picture: Harris has shown little desire to take on any real responsibility as vice president. Her first assigned task—managing the immigration crisis—did not go well.
Chairing the space council must have seemed like an easy gig. Alas, Harris has managed to bungle that as well. In one of her first official acts as space council chair, Harris hired a bunch of child actors and forced them to listen to her wax maniacally about the wonders of space.
Bigger picture: Most Americans are (justifiably) terrified at the thought of Harris becoming president.
Context: President Joe Biden is 80 years old.
-
@George-K said in Starship Launch this AM:
Rocket Explodes on Kamala's Watch
Andrew Stiles
April 20, 2023What happened: Vice President Kamala Harris assumed command of the National Space Council in May 2021. Nearly two years later, a SpaceX next-generation Starship exploded during a test flight over Texas.
Why it matters: It's another space-related scandal for Harris, who in 2022 presided over several launch delays involving the Artemis 1, a massive new rocket NASA hopes will one day carry humans to the moon for the first time since 1972. The SpaceX Starship is also being developed with that goal in mind.
Connecting the dots: SpaceX president and COO Gwynne Shotwell has served on the National Space Council's User Advisory Group since December 2022, when Harris formally invited her to join.
Big picture: Harris has shown little desire to take on any real responsibility as vice president. Her first assigned task—managing the immigration crisis—did not go well.
Chairing the space council must have seemed like an easy gig. Alas, Harris has managed to bungle that as well. In one of her first official acts as space council chair, Harris hired a bunch of child actors and forced them to listen to her wax maniacally about the wonders of space.
Bigger picture: Most Americans are (justifiably) terrified at the thought of Harris becoming president.
Context: President Joe Biden is 80 years old.
lolz
I actually thought it was the Bee or the Onion, and it turns out it isn't even a satire site.