SpaceX’s Starship experienced a catastrophic failure during its ninth test flight, marking the program’s latest setback after back-to-back upper stage failures in January and March.
The Super Heavy first stage suffered a catastrophic failure as it re-entered the atmosphere, losing contact with the rocket. However, the Starship upper stage successfully completed its suborbital trajectory without any significant issues.
Despite the success of the upper stage, the mission was marred by several technical glitches, including a propellant leak in one of the upper stage Raptor engines that resulted in inadvertent propellant mixing and ignition.
SpaceX has implemented multiple fixes to address these issues, including changes to the propellant feedlines, thrust levels, and installing additional vents. The company is also developing an improved Raptor engine to eliminate several failure modes.
The setbacks have raised concerns about the safety and reliability of the Starship program, which is critical to NASA’s plans to land astronauts on the moon in the next few years. Despite these challenges, SpaceX remains committed to demonstrating the capabilities of its rocket system for deep space exploration.
In an interview with CBS Sunday Morning, Elon Musk estimated that there’s a 50% chance of sending ships from Earth to Mars within the next year and a half. However, he acknowledged that this timeline is ambitious and that the company needs multiple successful test flights to demonstrate the safety and reliability of its technology.
Source: https://www.cbsnews.com/news/spacex-super-heavy-starship-launch-ninth-test-flight