Latest news with #SpaceXEngineers
Free Malaysia Today
5 days ago
- Business
- Free Malaysia Today
Starship megarocket blows up over Indian Ocean in latest bumpy test
SpaceX's prototype Starship is designed to eventually be fully reusable. (AP pic) SOUTH PADRE ISLAND : SpaceX's prototype Starship exploded over the Indian Ocean yesterday, 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 6.36pm 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 three to four weeks,' he said. He did not say, however, whether he still planned to deliver a live stream about Mars that SpaceX had been promoting. Standing 123m 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 US, 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. 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.
RNZ News
5 days ago
- Business
- RNZ News
SpaceX's Starship megarocket blows up over Indian Ocean in latest bumpy test
By Moises Avila , with Issam Ahmed in Washington, AFP SpaceX mission control lost contact with the upper stage of Starship as it leaked fuel, spun out of control, and made an uncontrolled reentry after flying halfway around the world, likely disintegrating over the Indian Ocean, officials said. Photo: AFP / Sergio Flores 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 6:36pm (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. Standing 123 metres 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. 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
Malay Mail
5 days ago
- Business
- Malay Mail
SpaceX Starship explodes over Indian Ocean in third test flight, Musk vows faster launch pace
WASHINGTON, May 28 — SpaceX's prototype Starship exploded over the Indian Ocean on yesterday, 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. SpaceX mission control lost contact with the upper stage of Starship as it leaked fuel, spun out of control, and made an uncontrolled reentry after flying halfway around the world, likely disintegrating over the Indian Ocean, officials said. — AFP pic 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. It was the first flight since test two that both vehicles were lost. 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
Gizmodo
06-05-2025
- Science
- Gizmodo
Musk Believed a Sniper Took Out a Falcon 9 Rocket in 2016, Report Claims
In 2016, a Falcon 9 rocket exploded during a wet dress rehearsal, creating a massive ball of fire that destroyed an onboard satellite. The reason for the eruption was unclear at first, leading to one of the wildest theories in spaceflight history that apparently got the feds involved. In Reentry, a book about the early years of SpaceX, veteran space reporter Eric Berger explores the details of the Falcon 9 anomaly. The reason for the failure was not immediately obvious, leading SpaceX engineers to develop several theories. One theory floated by engineers was that a sniper had fired at the rocket, triggering the explosion. Berger recently shared new details about this wild sniper theory, revealed through a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request. The explosion took place on September 1, 2016, around 9 a.m. ET. The Falcon 9 rocket was being prepped for a routine static fire test at Space Launch Complex 40 at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, when it suddenly burst into flames. The anomaly destroyed its onboard payload, the Amos-6 communications satellite. In the aftermath of the explosion, the company scrambled to find an explanation. SpaceX founder and CEO Elon Musk was drawn to the sniper theory, naturally, so he ordered employees to investigate it further. A helium tank exploded during the 2016 wet dress rehearsal, so SpaceX engineers attempted to recreate the blast in subsequent tests. To that end, they fired at helium tanks to see if they would rupture and what the resulting explosion would look like. Musk's apparent paranoia had also led him to believe that SpaceX's rival at the time, United Launch Alliance, was behind the explosion. Employees told Berger that, under Musk's direction, they were asked to go over to a building leased by ULA about a mile from the launch site and check the rooftop. According to Berger, SpaceX pursued the theory for about a month before the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) sent the company a letter stating that no gunman was involved. Berger acquired the FAA letter through a FOIA request, which revealed that SpaceX had submitted video and audio of the incident, along with its own analysis. 'SpaceX suggested that in the company's view, this information and data could be indicative of sabotage or criminal activity associated with the on-pad explosion of SpaceX's Falcon 9,' the letter read. But it didn't stop there—SpaceX further escalated the matter by informing the Federal Bureau of Investigation in Florida of the company's theory, according to the letter. The Tampa Field Office of the FBI investigated the incident and found no foul play. Instead, it was later revealed that SpaceX engineers had loaded the rocket's pressurized tanks with super-chilled helium too quickly, ultimately leading to the explosion. The incident occurred when SpaceX was still an up-and-comer in the spaceflight scene, and the loss of its rocket and payload dealt a heavy blow to the company. Fast forward nine years later, and Musk's rocket company is an industry leader while some of its earlier competitors, ULA included, have fallen behind.
