Latest news with #StarshipSuperHeavy
Time of India
30-06-2025
- Business
- Time of India
Elon Musk's SpaceX under investigation for crane accident in Texas; watch how it happened
Elon Musk's SpaceX is under investigation by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) following a recent crane accident at the company's Starbase, Texas, facility. The crane collapse was captured in a livestream by Lab Padre on YouTube, a channel focused on SpaceX. The video of the same was also shared on the social media platform X. Clips of the incident were widely shared across social media platforms. According to a report by CNBC, it was not immediately clear if any SpaceX workers sustained injuries as a result of the incident. Neither Musk nor other company executives have responded to requests for comment from the publication. Meanwhile, a spokesperson for OSHA informed CNBC that additional details will be made available once the investigation is complete. The incident reportedly occurred while the crane was involved in cleanup efforts following a recent Starship explosion at the site. Take a look at the video here: Tesla may have quite a history of workplace injuries Previously, SpaceX has been said to have faced scrutiny over its workplace safety record, which has reportedly exceeded the industry average in terms of injuries. In one 2014 incident, employee Simon LeBlanc died due to a hazard the company failed to address, according to OSHA. These developments come as SpaceX continues to face operational challenges, including a recent crane collapse and several explosions involving its Starship Super Heavy launch vehicle—the rocket intended to support Musk's long-term goal of Mars colonisation. Environmental groups in the US and Mexico have reportedly criticised the impacts of these incidents on local ecosystems, though SpaceX claims recent activities caused no harm. Starship is also tied to NASA's Artemis mission to return humans to the moon. However, uncertainty around NASA's upcoming budget—which is pending congressional approval—may affect upcoming collaborations with SpaceX. The Musk-led company has secured over $20 billion in federal contracts to date, mainly from NASA and the Department of Defence, the report adds.
CNBC
27-06-2025
- Science
- CNBC
SpaceX crane collapse in Texas being investigated by OSHA
A SpaceX crane collapse at the company's Starbase, Texas facility on Tuesday has prompted an investigation by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration, the federal agency told CNBC in an email. The crane collapse was captured in a livestream by Lab Padre on YouTube, a SpaceX-focused channel. Clips from Lab Padre were widely shared on social media, including on X, which is owned by SpaceX CEO Elon Musk. It wasn't immediately clear whether any SpaceX workers were injured as a result of the incident. Musk and other company executives didn't respond to a request for comment. A spokesperson for OSHA told CNBC that more details will be available after the investigation is complete. SpaceX has a history of workplace injuries that exceed industry average, Reuters previously reported. In 2014, one of the company's employees, Simon LeBlanc, died on the job due to what OSHA concluded was a failure by the company to protect him from a clear hazard. Earlier this year, the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), a Musk-led effort by the Trump administration to slash the size of the federal government, cut OSHA's resources and shuttered at least 11 of its field offices. Through DOGE, Musk sought to reduce federal agency budgets, personnel and even certain regulations, limiting their ability to investigate and enforce existing laws. The SpaceX crane collapse followed a string of explosions and other setbacks for the company's Starship Super Heavy launch vehicle, the largest rocket ever flown, which is key to Musk's ambition to transport equipment and people to Mars. Environmental activists in the U.S. and Mexico say those explosions have harmed sensitive habitat, wildlife and marine life. SpaceX said, in posts online, that its activity had not harmed the surrounding area during the most recent explosion on June 18. Starship was previously expected to play an important part in NASA's effort to return to the moon. SpaceX had earned more than $20 billion in federal government contracts mostly from the Department of Defense and NASA. Meanwhile, NASA's proposed lean budget for the next year has not yet been authorized by Congress and could impact the agency's business with SpaceX, and shift the focus of its missions. Musk, who was President Donald Trump's biggest financial backer, sought to appoint his friend Jared Issacman, a commercial astronaut, to lead NASA under the second Trump administration. Trump withdrew his nomination of Isaacman as the president bickered with Musk in the waning days of the billionaire's formal involvement with the White House.
India Today
20-06-2025
- Science
- India Today
Why did Elon Musk's Starship explode during testing? SpaceX answers
SpaceX's ambitious Starship program suffered a setback late Wednesday night when a prototype vehicle exploded during a routine test at the company's Starbase incident resulted in the complete loss of the Starship vehicle and damage to the immediate test area, but no injuries were explosion comes on the heels of Elon Musk planning to conduct the tenth test flight of the Starship Super Heavy rocket on June 29. advertisementWHY DID STARSHIP EXPLODE? According to SpaceX, the Starship was on the test stand preparing for its tenth flight test. After successfully completing a single-engine static fire earlier in the week, engineers were loading cryogenic propellant for a planned six-engine static fire when a sudden and energetic event explosion ignited several fires around the test site, but the area had been cleared of personnel in advance, and all staff are safe and accounted emphasised that there is no threat to the surrounding Rio Grande Valley communities.'Previous independent tests confirm that materials inside Starship pose no chemical, biological, or toxicological risks,' the company stated, adding that it is working closely with local, state, and federal agencies to monitor environmental and safety investigations by SpaceX engineering teams suggest the failure may have originated from a pressurised tank known as a COPV (composite overwrapped pressure vessel), which contained gaseous nitrogen in Starship's nosecone the company noted that a full data review is ongoing and that there is no commonality between the COPVs used in Starship and those in its Falcon rockets.'As is the case before any test, a safety zone was established and maintained throughout the operation,' SpaceX reported. The company also thanked first responders and local officials for their quick assistance following the remains committed to its Starship development program, which aims to revolutionise space travel with fully reusable rockets capable of carrying humans and cargo to the Moon, Mars, and company's rapid prototyping approach means setbacks are expected, but each incident provides valuable data to improve future designs and safety Watch
Time of India
28-05-2025
- Science
- Time of India
Elon Musk's SpaceX launches Starship but loses control mid-flight within 30 minutes, crashes into Indian Ocean
In a groundbreaking move for aerospace engineering, SpaceX launched the ninth integrated test flight of its Starship Super Heavy system from Starbase in South Texas on Tuesday evening. Unlike previous missions aimed at precision landings, this flight intentionally ended in a powerful splashdown. The goal was to gather critical data on the rocket's structural limits and boost progress toward full reusability. This dramatic crash was a calculated experiment, marking a pivotal step in SpaceX's mission to create reliable, reusable launch systems for future space exploration, including routine missions to the Moon, Mars, and beyond. SpaceX Starship lost control in mid-flight causing mission to end with ocean crash At 7:36 p.m. EDT (2336 GMT), the completely integrated Starship launch vehicle — consisting of the upper-stage Starship spacecraft riding on top of the Super Heavy booster — departed from SpaceX's Starbase complex on the Gulf Coast near Brownsville, Texas. by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like Secure Your Child's Future with Strong English Fluency Planet Spark Learn More Undo The launch was live-streamed on SpaceX's webcast, with observers seeing the rocket rise into the evening sky. The firing of Super Heavy's 33 Raptor engines created a powerful plume of fire, exhaust, and water vapor, marking another milestone in the company's long-term build-out of fully reusable spaceflight systems. For the first time, a previously launched Super Heavy booster powered a Starship flight — an important step toward SpaceX's larger goal of routine, reusable spaceflight. This specific booster had been upgraded since its previous mission and was being asked to prove it could withstand repeated launches and touchdowns. A few minutes into flight, the first-stage booster broke away from the upper-stage Starship vehicle as anticipated. But SpaceX lost communication with the booster during descent, and it's thought to have crashed into the ocean instead of executing the controlled splashdown SpaceX had intended. This kept engineers from capturing the full range of descent and landing data, though initial flight data will still be helpful. Satellite release failure highlights in Starship upper stage testing At the same time, the Starship upper stage of the rocket pressed onward, reaching its planned suborbital track well within nine minutes after liftoff. That part of the mission was intended to mimic future deep space flight conditions and to subject essential systems to stresses at high altitude. One of the significant failures was during mid-flight: payload doors that were supposed to open and release a set of Starlink simulator satellites malfunctioned and did not work correctly. This compromised one of the upper stage's important demonstration goals. SpaceX faces re-entry challenges as Starship spins out of control The mission was to conclude with a controlled splashdown and re-entry of the Starship upper stage in the Indian Ocean, just under 90 minutes after launch. However, near the 30-minute mark of the mission, SpaceX engineers saw a loss of attitude control, which resulted in the spacecraft starting to spin out of control. A SpaceX commentator recognized the problem on the live stream: "We won't be in sync the way we wanted it to be synchronized for entry… Our odds of coming all the way down are fairly low." This rotation obstructed Starship from following its descent trajectory properly, probably resulting in a catastrophic re-entry into the atmosphere of the Earth. Recent Starship test failures raise questions on reliability and safety compliance It was only four days since the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) issued SpaceX a fresh flight permit. This came after a comprehensive inquiry into the two previous failed test flights in early January and March 2025 that had resulted in devastating explosions soon after liftoff. These earlier failures showered the Caribbean with debris, resulted in flight path interference for commercial carriers, and prompted the FAA to increase safety zones and monitoring for subsequent launches. Over the regulatory obstacles, SpaceX forged ahead — a testament to its high-speed, iterative engineering process. What is particularly egregious about these failures is that they came during flight phases that had long been mastered by SpaceX. These were not maiden attempts — they were regression points for areas the company had already overcome with previous tests. This has called into question the reliability and consistency of both hardware and software systems, particularly as SpaceX aims to scale quickly. Elon Musk had hoped to step up Starship's test schedule in 2025, but the succession of malfunctions could hold back progress in the near term. Elon Musk's vision: Starship as the future of space exploration Elon Musk, the founder of SpaceX and one of the planet's most high-profile tech moguls, has for years kept Starship at the center of his mission to establish a human settlement on Mars and transform the availability of space. His vision is to build a reusable, multipurpose launch system that will take people and cargo to the Moon, Mars, and other destinations. Musk also suggested employing Starship as a replacement for the existing workhorse of SpaceX's satellite launch activity, the Falcon 9. With a height of 400 feet (122 meters), Starship will be capable of more payload than any previous rocket, with potential for humongous commercial and scientific missions. In addition to exploration, Starship would eventually replace the Falcon 9 for launching satellites into low-Earth orbit. SpaceX already dominates the world launch market today, with the majority of private and government satellite placements, as well as its own Starlink internet constellation. But that shift hinges on Starship demonstrating it can fly consistently — a milestone yet to be reached after a succession of rogue descents and equipment malfunctions in recent tests. Also Read | Watch | NASA astronaut captures rare Northern Lights aurora display over North America from the International Space Station
India Today
28-05-2025
- Science
- India Today
Video: Moment Elon Musk's Super Heavy rocket crashed after launch
Minutes after the SpaceX's Starship Super Heavy roared to life, the stage was set for a pre-planned splashdown of the ambitious Starship Super Heavy launched on its ninth integrated test flight from Starbase in South Texas in the wee hours of mission featured the first-ever reflight of a Super Heavy booster, which concluded with a dramatic, pre-planned crash in the Gulf of Mexico — a crucial test of the rocket's resilience and SpaceX's ongoing efforts to perfect The Super Heavy booster, previously flown during the seventh test flight, was equipped with upgraded hardware and new engine configurations following lessons learned from earlier SUPER HEAVY ROCKET CRASHGoodbye Super Heavy booster Jack Kuhr (@JackKuhr) May 27, 2025After lift-off, the booster executed a series of complex manoeuvres, including a controlled flip, boostback burn, and a high-angle of attempting a precision landing or a catch by the 'Mechazilla' tower, SpaceX engineers opted for a hard splashdown to gather vital data on how the booster withstands extreme conditions during ocean saw super heavy blow up. What a crazy sight. #space #SpaceX Meatloaf_TTV (@Meatloaf_TTV) May 27, 2025This deliberate crash was not an accident but a planned experiment to test the limits of the booster's structure and landing systems. The final landing burn used backup engines in a new configuration, simulating potential scenarios for future missions and enhancing the rocket's had said that the real-time data from the crash will inform future designs and operational procedures, bringing SpaceX closer to its goal of rapid, full reusability—a key requirement for routine missions to the Moon, Mars, and Starship's upper stage lost control nearly 30 minutes after launch and began spinning. It crashed minutes later over the Indian of Starship! SpaceX (@SpaceX) May 27, 2025The Starship was carrying eight Starlink simulator payloads, however it failed to deploy them as ninth test flight comes after two consecutive failures earlier in 2025, making this mission a pivotal step for SpaceX. Each flight, including this hard splashdown, provides invaluable insights, moving the company closer to operational launches and cementing Starship's role as the backbone of future space Watch
