Wildlife officials say SpaceX launch left behind significant damage::undefined
So, something the article mentions is that SpaceX planned for the rocket to explode. That seems odd, why would they want that? Was it to determine what would happen if it did, or to find weak points that could lead to a catastrophic failure in the event of a manned mission? If so, why did it have to be on a launch pad and not in, say, rural Kentucky? It wasn’t going to get off the ground to begin with, so why blow it up on an actual launch pad?
Government when Elon asks for 10 billion dollars in subsidies to blow up rockets: 😳
Government when educatiors ask for enough money to buy crayons for the classroom: 😡A Musk company seriously damages the surroundings? How unexpected.
The article that this article links to says that the rocket failing wasn’t the outcome they hoped for but since the launch was a test rather than a critical mission they spun it as a learning experience. Also apparently the explosion was a deliberate self-destruct after the engines failed partway up, so at least that system works.
I watched the launch live, they set the expectation that “if it gets off the pad it is a successful test” way before the launch. That wasn’t just post failure spin. They certainly didn’t complete the mission as planned, but they gathered a lot of valuable data. Something tells me that they didn’t expect the pad to be as damaged as it was. I’m guessing their data said there would be damage, but it would be significantly less. Now they know. Unfortunately there are few small errors on a ship that size.
That didn’t work as expected either. They sent the command for self-destruct and it took a while for the rocket to actually fall apart. Something about the self-destruct charges not being strong enough? It was kind of amazing to see this ginormous rocket pinwheeling through the air before it finally tore apart once the pressure inside lessened enough.
The Starship launch of April 20 was a test for the BFR (Big Falcon Rocket) and Starship. It was considered a major success as it was able to launch off the rocket pad with no major issues (some of the engines did fail on the first stage but the Launch Vehicle was able to continue). One thing to note is the current test of Starship was to launch and possibly test proper separation (which this launch failed iirc). It was never meant to go and complete a full orbit. This launch was the first test of the entire system (BFR and Starship together), so it acts more of “how far can we go with our current progress?”
Almost all unmanned rockets have a faliure mode of exploding, but this is usually done above a safe area. A bunch of debris falling down is a lot safer than a whole Rocket, loaded with explosive fuel. Starship had exploded above the Gulf of Mexico, far away from any pockets of civilization. Keep in mind, to do this launch, they would have to had clearance from government agencies (not sure which one specifically, probably NASA?) to perform said launch.
I guess one major criticism I have of SpaceX’s trial and error method is that it does cause more environmental damage than NASA’s method (slower development but leads to less lost of vehicles).
Take this with a grain of salt, as I am no means an expert, just an Aerospace enthusiast and am going by what I recall.
They didn’t plan for it to explode. The article is quoting another article that explains that the rocket exploded because they triggered the flight termination system after they lost control of the rocket. It got off the ground just fine, aside from the fact that it’s massive engines obliterated the concrete under the launch mount.
Check out the Wikipedia article for more details.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SpaceX_Starship_Integrated_Flight_Test?wprov=sfti1
tech bro busy creating wild life on mars by destroying the one on earth
Yes it’s better to test a real rocket. You can only simulate so much. Also launching into the ocean is by far the safest option. And you need to test the actual pad and the huge launch tower.
I’m curious what this has to do with technology.
Well, wildlife was destroyed by a popular major technology that’s still going through trials. I think that’s probably why. The whole, you know, technology part.
a popular major technology
A rocket. This would probably be better suited for the space communities because, you know, the space part.
You didn’t make it clear where the technology part comes in. Unless we’re going with the broadest sense of the word because literally everything could be connected to technology in some way.
SpaceX is a tech company that’s making new rockets. The RT blew up on the ground, not in space.
Your complaint/comment is invalid, childish, whiny, as well as frankly pathetic and I don’t have the patience to handle you with kid gloves.
Grow up and get over it.
I’d just like to see a bit more to the community than ever single thing that happens with SpaceX, Twitter, and Tesla simply “because they’re technology”. Almost all the comments are even saying how this article is really reaching and stretching the scale problem.
Almost all the comments are even saying how this article is reaching.
There are two.
Blocked. Not interested in ever seeing your takes again when they’re not based in reality.
Grow up and get over it.
Maybe you could have followed your own advice after reading my first comment instead of just being rude.
