Latest news with #Artemis3
Yahoo
3 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Elon Boasts of Huge Starship Improvements Immediately Before It Blows Up Spectacularly
SpaceX experienced yet another failure during its ninth test launch of its Starship vehicle Tuesday evening. The rocket spun out of control as it tumbled through space, causing it to make an uncontrolled descent in the Indian Ocean that ended in an all-too-familiar blast. As is always the case after a failure, SpaceX CEO Elon Musk was optimistic. During an interview with Ars Technica's Eric Berger, published mere minutes before the launch of Tuesday's test flight, Musk was adamant that "we've got about an 80 percent chance of having solved" issues related to the design of the spacecraft's heat shield tiles and the cause of the "explosions in the last two flights in the upper stage engine bay." But given this week's disaster, Musk may have put the horse before the cart. The prototype, dubbed Ship 35, never even got close to a controlled reentry. Live footage shared by the space company showed the untiled side of the spacecraft heating up as it was enveloped with flaming plasma. However, the launch wasn't a complete failure. The two previous test flights, which saw each Starship break up over the Caribbean and appear as bright streaks in the evening sky, were plagued by propulsion system leaks, triggering early shutdown — which technically didn't happen during Tuesday's launch, with the failure coming later. In other words, the company's latest test flight was one step forward, and several steps back, yet again highlighting the risks of SpaceX's iterative design philosophy. Whether Musk's newfound motivation and decision to stop ignoring his businesses while chaotically slashing budgets in the White House will prove effective remains to be seen. "It's not like I left the companies," he told Berger. "It was just relative time allocation that probably was a little too high on the government side, and I've reduced that significantly in recent weeks." Meanwhile, Musk proclaimed that he was elated following Tuesday's failure, arguing that "Starship made it to the scheduled ship engine cutoff, so big improvement over last flight!" "Also, no significant loss of heat shield tiles during ascent," he added. Chances are we'll see more attempts in the coming months, if Musk is taken by his word. "Launch cadence for next 3 flights will be faster, at approximately 1 every 3 to 4 weeks," Musk wrote. Even with his renewed interest in his businesses, the pressure is seriously starting to grow for SpaceX. NASA is still hoping to tap the heavy launch platform for Artemis 3, its first crewed lunar landing attempt, which is tentatively scheduled for 2027. Given the latest setbacks, SpaceX has its work cut out for it. Beyond a safe landing, the company still has to figure out how to increase the launch cadence significantly, refuel in orbit, provide life support to crews, and much more. To Musk, it's all part of a much greater plan to send humans to Mars, a distant planet that's incredibly hostile to life. "We're building the equivalent of the Union Pacific Railroad and the train," he told Berger prior to Tuesday's failure. "So once you have the transportation system to Mars, then there's a vast set of opportunities that open up to do anything on the surface of Mars, which includes, you know, doing everything from building a semiconductor fab to a pizza joint, basically building a civilization." More on Starship: NASA Signs Contract for Elon Musk's Starship, Even Though It's Never Launched Without Exploding
The Sun
3 days ago
- Science
- The Sun
Starship megarocket blows up over Indian Ocean in latest bumpy test
SOUTH PADRE ISLAND: SpaceX's prototype Starship exploded over the Indian Ocean on Tuesday, capping another bumpy test flight for the rocket central to billionaire Elon Musk's dream of colonizing Mars. The biggest and most powerful launch vehicle ever built lifted off around 6:36 pm (2336 GMT) from the company's Starbase facility, near a southern Texas village that earlier this month voted to become a city -- also named Starbase. Excitement ran high among SpaceX engineers and spectators alike, after the last two outings ended with the upper stage disintegrating in fiery cascades over the Caribbean. But signs of trouble emerged quickly: the first-stage Super Heavy booster blew up instead of executing its planned splashdown in the Gulf of Mexico. A live feed then showed the upper-stage spaceship failing to open its doors to deploy a payload of Starlink satellite 'simulators.' Though the ship flew farther than on its two previous attempts, it sprang leaks and began spinning out of control as it coasted through space. Mission teams vented fuel to reduce the force of the expected explosion, and onboard cameras cut out roughly 45 minutes into what was meant to be a 66-minute flight -- falling short of its target splashdown zone off Australia's west coast. 'Starship experienced a rapid unscheduled disassembly,' SpaceX posted on X -- a familiar euphemism for fiery failure -- while stressing it would learn from the setback. Musk, meanwhile, vowed to pick up the pace: 'Launch cadence for the next 3 flights will be faster - approximately one every 3 to 4 weeks,' he said. He did not say, however, whether he still planned to deliver a live stream about Mars that SpaceX had been promoting. Space fans Standing 403 feet (123 meters) tall, the black-and-white behemoth is designed to eventually be fully reusable and launch at low cost, carrying Musk's hopes of making humanity a multi-planetary species. NASA is also counting on a variant of Starship to serve as the crew lander for Artemis 3, the mission to return Americans to the Moon. Ahead of the launch, dozens of space fans gathered at Isla Blanca Park on nearby South Padre Island, hoping to catch a glimpse of history. Several small tourist boats also dotted the lagoon, while a live feed showed Musk sitting at ground control in Starbase, wearing an 'Occupy Mars' T-shirt. Australian Piers Dawson, 50, told AFP he's 'obsessed' with the rocket and built his family vacation around the launch -- his first trip to the United States, with his wife and teenage son whom he took out of school to be there. 'I know in science there's never a failure, you learn everything from every single test so that was still super exciting to see,' said Joshua Wingate, a 33-year-old tech entrepreneur from Austin, after the launch. 'Fail fast, learn fast' Starship has now completed nine integrated test flights atop its Super Heavy booster. SpaceX is betting that its 'fail fast, learn fast' ethos, which helped it dominate commercial spaceflight, will once again pay off. One bright spot: the company has now caught the Super Heavy booster in the launch tower's giant robotic arms three times - a daring engineering feat it sees as key to rapid reusability and slashing costs. This ninth flight marked the first time SpaceX reused a Super Heavy booster, though it opted not to attempt a catch -- instead pushing the envelope with a steeper descent angle and one engine intentionally disabled. The FAA recently approved an increase in Starship launches from five to 25 annually, stating the expanded schedule wouldn't harm the environment -- a decision that overruled objections from conservation groups concerned about impacts to sea turtles and shorebirds.
Hans India
4 days ago
- Science
- Hans India
SpaceX's Starship fails 3rd time, Musk blames fuel leak as megarocket explodes
New Delhi: Even as SpaceX's Starship flight exploded during splashdown on its ninth test on Wednesday, the company's founder Elon Musk blamed it on fuel leaks. This is the third time in a row that Starship flight has faced issues during the test flight. The company's last two test flights -- the seventh (January) and eighth (March) test flight -- also ended prematurely with the destruction of the aircraft. The ninth test flight of Starship -- which blasted off at about 7:36 p.m. EDT (5:06 am IST) from the company's Starbase launch site in Texas -- successfully reached orbit, flying farther than on its two previous attempts. However, the spacecraft's payload bay door failed to open, preventing the planned release of simulated Starlink satellites. Around 30 minutes into the mission, SpaceX confirmed a fuel tank leak aboard the vehicle. The first-stage Super Heavy booster exploded shortly before its expected splashdown, and live video showed the upper-stage vehicle spinning uncontrollably before its planned re-entry through Earth's atmosphere, due to fuel leaks. 'Leaks caused loss of main tank pressure during the coast and re-entry phase,' Musk shared in a post on his social media platform X. 'Contact with the booster was lost shortly after the start of the landing burn when it experienced a rapid unscheduled disassembly approximately 6 minutes after launch, bringing an end to the first reflight of a Super Heavy booster,' SpaceX said in a statement. However, Musk called the flight an achievement and noted that there had been no loss to the heat shield tiles. 'Starship made it to the scheduled ship engine cutoff, so big improvement over the last flight! Also, no significant loss of heat shield tiles during ascent. Lot of good data to review,' Musk said. SpaceX noted that the company 'will continue to review data and work toward our next flight test'. Standing 403 feet (123 meters) tall, Starship and heavy booster -- the world's biggest and most powerful rocket system. It will launch the moon lander for NASA's Artemis 3 mission that aims to land astronauts on the Moon by 2026.
RTÉ News
4 days ago
- Science
- RTÉ News
SpaceX Starship explodes before splashdown
SpaceX's prototype Starship has exploded over the Indian Ocean, capping another bumpy test flight for the rocket central to Elon Musk's dream of colonising Mars. The biggest and most powerful launch vehicle ever built lifted off around 6:36pm (12:26am Irish time) from the company's Starbase facility, near a southern Texas village that earlier this month voted to become a city - also named Starbase. Excitement ran high among SpaceX engineers and spectators after the last two outings ended with the upper stage disintegrating over the Caribbean. But signs of trouble emerged quickly: the first-stage Super Heavy booster blew up instead of executing its planned splashdown in the Gulf of Mexico. A live feed then showed the upper-stage spaceship failing to open its doors to deploy a payload of Starlink satellite "simulators". The ship flew farther than on its two previous attempts, but it had leaks and began spinning out of control as it coasted through space. Mission teams vented fuel to reduce the force of the expected explosion and onboard cameras cut out roughly 45 minutes into what was meant to be a 66-minute flight - falling short of its target splashdown zone off Australia's west coast. "Starship experienced a rapid unscheduled disassembly," SpaceX posted on X. "With a test like this, success comes from what we learn, and today's test will help us improve Starship's reliability as SpaceX seeks to make life multiplanetary," it added. Meanwhile Mr Musk vowed to pick up the pace. "Launch cadence for the next three flights will be faster - approximately one every three to four weeks," he said. However, he did not say whether he still planned to deliver a live stream about Mars that SpaceX had been promoting. Standing 123m tall, the black and white rocket is designed to eventually be fully reusable and launch at low cost, carrying Mr Musk's hopes of making humanity a multiplanetary species. NASA is also counting on a variant of Starship to serve as the crew lander for Artemis 3, the mission to return Americans to the Moon. Ahead of the launch, dozens of space fans gathered at Isla Blanca Park on nearby South Padre Island, hoping to catch a glimpse of history. Several small tourist boats also dotted the lagoon, while a live feed showed Mr Musk sitting at ground control in Starbase, wearing an "Occupy Mars" T-shirt. Australian Piers Dawson, 50, told AFP he is "obsessed" with the rocket and built his family vacation around the launch. He said it was his first trip to the United States, with his wife and teenage son whom he took out of school to be there. "I know in science there's never a failure, you learn everything from every single test so that was still super exciting to see," said Joshua Wingate, a 33-year-old tech entrepreneur from Austin, after the launch. Starship has now completed nine integrated test flights atop its Super Heavy booster. SpaceX is betting that its "fail fast, learn fast" ethos, which helped it dominate commercial spaceflight, will once again pay off. The company has caught the Super Heavy booster in the launch tower's robotic arms three times - a daring engineering feat it sees as key to rapid reusability and slashing costs. This ninth flight marked the first time SpaceX reused a Super Heavy booster, but it opted not to attempt a catch. Instead it pushed the envelope with a steeper descent angle and one engine intentionally disabled. The FAA recently approved an increase in Starship launches from five to 25 annually, stating the expanded schedule would not harm the environment - a decision that overruled objections from conservation groups concerned about impacts on sea turtles and shorebirds.
Business Times
4 days ago
- Science
- Business Times
Starship megarocket blows up over Indian Ocean in latest bumpy test
[SOUTH PADRE ISLAND, United States] SpaceX's prototype Starship exploded over the Indian Ocean on Tuesday, capping another bumpy test flight for the rocket central to billionaire Elon Musk's dream of colonising Mars. The biggest and most powerful launch vehicle ever built lifted off around 6.36 pm (2336 GMT) from the company's Starbase facility, near a southern Texas village that earlier this month voted to become a city - also named Starbase. Excitement ran high among SpaceX engineers and spectators alike, after the last two outings ended with the upper stage disintegrating in fiery cascades over the Caribbean. But signs of trouble emerged quickly: the first-stage Super Heavy booster blew up instead of executing its planned splashdown in the Gulf of Mexico. A live feed then showed the upper-stage spaceship failing to open its doors to deploy a payload of Starlink satellite 'simulators.' Though the ship flew farther than on its two previous attempts, it sprang leaks and began spinning out of control as it coasted through space. BT in your inbox Start and end each day with the latest news stories and analyses delivered straight to your inbox. Sign Up Sign Up Mission teams vented fuel to reduce the force of the expected explosion, and onboard cameras cut out roughly 45 minutes into what was meant to be a 66-minute flight -- falling short of its target splashdown zone off Australia's west coast. 'Starship experienced a rapid unscheduled disassembly,' SpaceX posted on X - a familiar euphemism for fiery failure - while stressing it would learn from the setback. Musk, meanwhile, vowed to pick up the pace: 'Launch cadence for the next 3 flights will be faster - approximately one every 3 to 4 weeks,' he said. He did not say, however, whether he still planned to deliver a live stream about Mars that SpaceX had been promoting. Space fans Standing 403 feet (123 meters) tall, the black-and-white behemoth is designed to eventually be fully reusable and launch at low cost, carrying Musk's hopes of making humanity a multi-planetary species. NASA is also counting on a variant of Starship to serve as the crew lander for Artemis 3, the mission to return Americans to the Moon. Ahead of the launch, dozens of space fans gathered at Isla Blanca Park on nearby South Padre Island, hoping to catch a glimpse of history. Several small tourist boats also dotted the lagoon, while a live feed showed Musk sitting at ground control in Starbase, wearing an 'Occupy Mars' T-shirt. Australian Piers Dawson, 50, told AFP he's 'obsessed' with the rocket and built his family vacation around the launch - his first trip to the United States, with his wife and teenage son whom he took out of school to be there. 'I know in science there's never a failure, you learn everything from every single test so that was still super exciting to see,' said Joshua Wingate, a 33-year-old tech entrepreneur from Austin, after the launch. 'Fail fast, learn fast' Starship has now completed nine integrated test flights atop its Super Heavy booster. SpaceX is betting that its 'fail fast, learn fast' ethos, which helped it dominate commercial spaceflight, will once again pay off. One bright spot: the company has now caught the Super Heavy booster in the launch tower's giant robotic arms three times - a daring engineering feat it sees as key to rapid reusability and slashing costs. This ninth flight marked the first time SpaceX reused a Super Heavy booster, though it opted not to attempt a catch - instead pushing the envelope with a steeper descent angle and one engine intentionally disabled. The FAA recently approved an increase in Starship launches from five to 25 annually, stating the expanded schedule wouldn't harm the environment -- a decision that overruled objections from conservation groups concerned about impacts to sea turtles and shorebirds. AFP
