SpaceX Starship - Orbital Test Flight - Starbase TX

Launch Date: April 20
Launch Window: 8:28am CDT (6:28am PDT, 13:28 UTC) - 62 minute window
Launch site: LC-1? - Starbase, Boca Chica Beach, Texas
Core Booster Recovery: Expended in Gulf
Starship Recovery: Water landing near Hawaii
Booster: Super Heavy Booster 7
Starship: Starship 24
Mass: No mass simulator mentioned
Orbit: LEO-ish
Yearly Launch Number: 26

A SpaceX Super Heavy and Starship launch vehicle will launch on its first orbital test flight. The mission will attempt to travel around the world for nearly one full orbit, resulting in a re-entry and splashdown of the Starship near Hawaii.

Webcast:

 

[ecarfan]

Is the lower stage launch booster painted maybe?

No, it is bare metal. If it looked white that is because of frost from the super cold propellants.

 

[mongo]

https://twitter.com/x/status/1649053476276797440

 

[mongo]

NSF is saying it may have lost a hydraulic power unit at 30 seconds. That would cut into gimbal/ control authority.

 

[HVM]

Yeah it destroyed concrete under the pad and throw bits all over, and not only NSF van:

https://twitter.com/x/status/1649062784167030785

 

[ColoradoMike]

I was watching "Everyday Astronaut" post launch on YouTube and they got covered in sand at the condo they are in. I have a funny feeling some "non-SpaceX" fans are going to be complaining. Let's just hope it doesn't cause any more issues for launching. Overall I was super impressed...sometimes things have to go BOOM before they get it right!

 

[ecarfan]

This is interesting…

https://twitter.com/x/status/1649058298816069633

 

[mongo]

Yeah it destroyed concrete under the pad and throw bits all over, and not only NSF van:

https://twitter.com/x/status/1649062784167030785

Well, there's a flame trench now...

 

[ecarfan]

@Dmitry_V_home on NSF posted this image showing the number of engines that failed. I would guess that is far too many for the vehicle to achieve the planned trajectory. It seemed to lose a lot of acceleration after Max Q.

 

[ecarfan]

Tank farm is still venting. Did we see the venting last this long after Tuesday’s attempt?

 

[mongo]

Tank farm is still venting. Did we see the venting last this long after Tuesday’s attempt?

Monday was an unload vs safing; but given the shrapnel, there may be some leaks.

 

[HVM]

I can't be sure but it look like they launched with three raptors out. I don't think that's ok with FAA. Maybe they flamed out after the release...
We see graphics in T+00:00:14 so it's possible.

 

[tivoboy]

No, it is bare metal. If it looked white that is because of frost from the super cold propellants.

Maybe it was just sections of frost falling off?

 

[tivoboy]

https://twitter.com/x/status/1649053476276797440

Musk DID say that was more than a tad concerned that heavy could melt the pad..

 

[mongo]

I can't be sure but it look like they launched with three raptors out. I don't think that's ok with FAA. Maybe they flamed out after the release...
We see graphics in T+00:00:14 so it's possible.

Why would the FAA care? If it were a requirement, it would be built into the launch sequence.

PEA: "The Super Heavy is expected to be equipped with up to 37 Raptor engines, and the Starship will employ up to six Raptor engines."

 

[Unclepaul]

Reports are that this rocket was fully outfitted with sensors to analyze any failures and provide data for future flights. Although it did not complete it's flight, it may have indeed completed it's mission.

 

[Cosmacelf]

ha,

https://twitter.com/x/status/1649052722698784771

Dude! Why would you park a freaking car in the path of launch debris?? Sure, set up a remote camera on a tripod or whatever, but not a car!

 

[Cosmacelf]

How long is it intended to sit on the pad after starting engines? I'm sure it was just seconds but good grief it felt like an eternity. I went from excitement at ignition to screaming "don't blow up on the pad!".

I suspect there were engines out during launch which is why it took so long to clear the tower. That may have also contributed to more launch pad debris being thrown about which may have hit the booster in a cascading chain of events.

We are all still mystified why the launch tower is as basic as it is to not mitigate this kind stuff. Was there even a deluge system?

 

[mongo]

I suspect there were engines out during launch which is why it took so long to clear the tower. That may have also contributed to more launch pad debris being thrown about which may have hit the booster in a cascading chain of events.

We are all still mystified why the launch tower is as basic as it is to not mitigate this kind stuff. Was there even a deluge system?

Pieces of deluge system have been shipped in from Florida, but not installed yet.

 

[ecarfan]

I can't be sure but it look like they launched with three raptors out. I don't think that's ok with FAA. Maybe they flamed out after the release...
We see graphics in T+00:00:14 so it's possible.

Here’s a series of screen captures showing the progressing number of engine failures. The first image is just a few seconds after the flight data graphic was first displayed. So we don’t know much before that moment when the first 3 engines failed; before clamps were released? Don’t know yet.

There is some speculation that more than 6 engines failed, but that is the highest number that SpaceX indicated during the flight.

I do find it curious that the webcast hosts waited so long after the vehicle was clearly out of control before saying anything was wrong.

And I am surprised that the ATFS did not activate earlier; the vehicle had tumbled multiple times before the RUD.

 

[ecarfan]

At this point, just based on publicly available visual evidence, I find it unlikely that SpaceX will manage more than 2 additional test flights this year, and maybe only one. They may be hardware rich, but the surface below the OLM is going to need a lot of work, and the tank farm may need more protection. Will the not-yet-installed deluge system be capable of handling the exhaust before and during liftoff?

Given the large number of vehicles that are nearly complete or in production, I’m wondering if SpaceX will have to slow down the production rate.