LUCIE AUBOURG -
A prototype of SpaceX’s unmanned rocket Starship exploded on Wednesday, the third time a test flight ended in flames.
The mishaps may seem like disasters but experts say these incidents are part of the spaceship’s development, and even, in a way, beneficial.
WHAT IS STARSHIP?
SpaceX is developing the rocket with the goal of sending humans to the Moon on it from 2023, and then to Mars. It will also be able to place satellites in orbit.
The giant spacecraft is 50 metres tall and nine metres in diameter.
It will in the future sit atop a first stage called Super Heavy, making the combined vehicle 120 metres in height.
The rocket will be reusable — a key focus of billionaire Elon Musk’s space venture.
It can also carry some 100 tonnes of material into space, with SpaceX calling it “the world’s most powerful launch vehicle ever developed.”
CAUSE OF EXPLOSIONS
Since December, SpaceX has carried out three tests with Starship prototypes.
SN8 and SN9 (SN stands for serial number) came into their landings too quickly and exploded into huge fireballs.
SN10, on Wednesday, managed to land vertically, as expected, but exploded on the ground a few minutes later.
SpaceX has not provided an explanation.
The rocket was not completely upright and was slightly damaged on landing, said Jonathan McDowell of the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics.
“Even a small methane leak” could have caused the explosion, he said.
WAS TEST BENEFICIAL?
The purpose of the tests is to acquire new data for analysis to improve the prototype.
“Testing is not binary,” with results measured in black and white, Glenn Lightsey, professor at the Daniel Guggenheim School of Aerospace Engineering, said.
“Since the explosion occurred after SpaceX had stuck the landing, it is likely that most of the test objectives were met,” he said.
Specifically, the rocket reached 10 kilometres in altitude as planned, and turned into a horizontal position during its flight.
In addition, “the vertical soft landing is a spectacular achievement,” Lightsey said, because it showed SpaceX has successfully fine-tuned deceleration for landing after the SN8 and SN9 explosions.
SpaceX congratulated itself after each of the three test flights.
“Starship SN10 landed in one piece!” Musk tweeted on Wednesday, an hour after SN10 exploded.
Thomas Zurbuchen, associate administrator Nasa’s science mission directorate, also tweeted his congratulations to SpaceX: “Cheers to iteration without which there is no innovation. To many more!”
— AFP
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