SpaceX’s Starship underwent another “fast exterior disassembly” that exploded Wednesday night in a spectacular fire. The vehicle did not even step down this time.
SpaceX’s Ninth Star Test Flight Ended in Another Blast
The huge explosion occurred at the SpaceX Starbase launch site in Brownsville, Texas, where Starship 36 is undergoing its second regular static fire test. Such a test is a trial of a vehicle launch system, refueling it and briefly starting its engine without having to get out of the launch rack.
Unfortunately, this particular experiment simply didn’t go as planned, and luckily the unmanned Starship 36 held a fiery finale at 11:00 pm local time (PDT/PDT/Friday, 12:00 am ET). No injuries have been reported, and local police said an investigation is underway to determine the cause of the explosion.
Nasaspaceflight (about one hour and 56 minutes) airs the explosion and consequences, while the catastrophic failure of Starship turns the entire screen white.
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“As for those release dates, I think this could be delayed [them] Something.
Mixable light speed
Starship 36 is expected to be used during SpaceX’s tenth Starship test flight, although a release date has not been determined. Given Wednesday’s event, it’s no surprise if SpaceX chooses to postpone the plan now.
The official SpaceX X account also acknowledged the incident, reiterating that no one seemed to be hurt.
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“On Wednesday, June 18, CT at about 11 p.m., the Starship, which was preparing for the tenth flight test, experienced a major anomaly at the test booth at Starbase,” SpaceX wrote. “During the entire operation, the entire site was kept safe and all personnel were safe.
“Our Constellation team is actively working to ensure that the test location and surrounding areas are integrated with local officials. Residents in the surrounding communities are not harmful and we ask individuals not to try to approach the area as safety operations continue.”
The loss of Starship 36 could be an unnecessary setback for SpaceX. The company’s ninth Starship test flight previously ended in an unplanned explosion last month, its third consecutive explosion flight. Although every failure is always an opportunity to learn, there is no doubt that these are very expensive courses.
