SpaceXB次元官网网址檚 giant new rocket exploded minutes after blasting off on its first test flight Thursday and crashed into the Gulf of Mexico.
Elon MuskB次元官网网址檚 company was aiming to send the ever built on a round-the-world trip from the southern tip of Texas, near the Mexican border. The nearly 400-foot (120-meter) Starship carried no people or satellites.
Images showed several of the 33 main engines were not firing as Starship climbed from the launch pad, reaching as high as 24 miles (39 kilometers). There was no immediate word from SpaceX on how many engines failed to ignite or shut down prematurely.
The booster was supposed to peel away from the spacecraft three minutes after liftoff, but that didnB次元官网网址檛 happen. Rather, the rocket with the spacecraft still attached began to tumble and then exploded, plummeting into the water.
Instead of a best-case-scenario 1 1/2-hour flight with the spacecraft taking a lap around the world, the whole thing lasted four minutes. It reached a maximum speed of about 1,300 mph (2,100 kph).
Throngs of spectators watched from South Padre Island, several miles away from the Boca Chica Beach launch site, which was off-limits. As Starship lifted off with a thunderous roar, the crowd screamed: B次元官网网址淕o, baby, go!B次元官网网址�
Musk, in a tweet, called it B次元官网网址渁n exciting test launch of Starship! Learned a lot for next test launch in a few months.B次元官网网址�
In the weeks leading up to the flight, Musk gave 50-50 odds that the spacecraft would reach orbit and not end up in what SpaceX calls a B次元官网网址渞apid unscheduled disassembly.B次元官网网址� He said not blowing up the launch pad would be a win.
B次元官网网址淵ou never know exactly whatB次元官网网址檚 going to happen,B次元官网网址� said SpaceX livestream commentator and engineer John Insprucker. B次元官网网址淏ut as we promised, excitement is guaranteed and Starship gave us a rather spectacular end.B次元官网网址�
The company intends to use Starship to send people and cargo to the moon and, eventually, Mars. NASA has reserved a Starship for its next moonwalking team, and rich tourists are already booking lunar flybys.
Despite the abbreviated flight, congratulations poured in from NASA chief Bill Nelson and others in the space industry. Retired Canadian astronaut Chris Hadfield tweeted, B次元官网网址淗uge accomplishment, huge lessons, onwards to the next attempt.B次元官网网址�
B次元官网网址淚t fell somewhere between a small step and their hoped-for giant leap, but it still represents significant progress toward a reusable super-heavy lift rocket,B次元官网网址� University of ChicagoB次元官网网址檚 Jordan Bimm, a space historian, said in an email.
At 394 feet and nearly 17 million pounds of thrust, Starship easily surpasses NASAB次元官网网址檚 moon rockets B次元官网网址� past, present and future. its new 322-foot (98-meter) moon rocket last November on a test flight, sending the empty Orion capsule around the moon.
The stainless steel Starship rocket is designed to be fully reusable with fast turnaround, dramatically lowering costs, similar to what SpaceXB次元官网网址檚 smaller Falcon rockets have done soaring from Cape Canaveral, Florida. Nothing was to be saved from this test flight, with the spacecraft B次元官网网址� if all had gone well B次元官网网址� aiming for a watery grave in the Pacific near Hawaii.
The futuristic spacecraft flew several miles into the air during testing a few years ago, But this was to be the inaugural launch of the first-stage booster with 33 methane-fueled engines.
SpaceX has more boosters and spacecraft lined up for more test flight; the next set is almost ready to go. Musk wants to fire them off in quick succession, so he can start using Starships to launch satellites into low-Earth orbit and then put people on board.
It was the second launch attempt. by a frozen booster valve.
Jason and Lisa Flores drove down from Corpus Christi to watch the launch with their daughter, and noticed something was amiss.
Lisa Flores cried seeing the liftoff and then realized, B次元官网网址淚tB次元官网网址檚 not working out the way it was supposed to.B次元官网网址�
Elizabeth Trujillo, 13, wearing a B次元官网网址淪tar WarsB次元官网网址� shirt and carrying toy binoculars, skipped school to see the launch from the beach with her mother and other relatives. The crowd cheered when Starship cleared the tower.
Despite the failed attempt, B次元官网网址渋t was worth it,B次元官网网址� said Jessica Trujillo, ElizabethB次元官网网址檚 mother. B次元官网网址淛ust hearing and seeing the view, the excitement of the crowd, it was priceless.B次元官网网址�
B次元官网网址淧ractice makes perfect. They just got to practice some more,B次元官网网址� she added.
B次元官网网址擬arcia Dunn, The Associated Press
VIDEO:
