SpaceX Starship orbital test flight

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This article is about the first attempt at orbital flight. For other Starship flights, see List of SpaceX Starship flight tests.

Starship Flight Test
StarshipLaunch.jpg
Fully stacked Starship vehicle during its first flight
Mission typeFlight test
OperatorSpaceX
Mission duration3 minutes, 59 seconds (achieved)
90–100 minutes (planned)
Orbits completed0 (achieved)
<1 (intended)
Start of mission
Launch dateApril 20, 2023, 13:33 UTC (08:33 CDT)[1]
RocketStarship
Launch siteSpaceX Starbase
ContractorSpaceX
End of mission
DestroyedApril 20, 2023
Orbital parameters
RegimeTransatmospheric Earth orbit (intended)
Periapsis altitude50 km (31 mi) (planned)
Apoapsis altitude250 km (160 mi) (planned)
 

On April 20, 2023, SpaceX conducted the first combined launch of its Starship spacecraft and Super Heavy first stage booster. Called the Starship Flight Test by the company, the uncrewed flight test ended in an early failure at around the time of stage separation. The flight made Starship the tallest and the most powerful rocket ever flown, with twice the thrust of the 1960s Saturn V.[2][3] The craft was planned to fly nearly one orbit around the Earth before reentering the atmosphere and splashing down near Hawaii,[4] while the booster was intended to perform a controlled water landing on the Gulf of Mexico.[5]

The rocket launched from the Starbase launch site near Boca Chica, Texas, at 13:33 UTC (8:33 am CDT). At around liftoff, the rocket had already lost 3 of its 33 booster Raptor engines; despite these engine-outs the vehicle cleared the launch tower.[6] Another 5 engines appeared to be lost during the subsequent flight.[7] About three minutes into the flight, just prior to planned stage separation, the spacecraft started to tumble out of control. Safety personnel activated the flight termination system, destroying the rocket over the Gulf of Mexico four minutes after launch.[8]

Background[edit]

Further information: SpaceX Starship development and List of SpaceX Starship flight tests

Starship is a super heavy-lift launch vehicle developed by SpaceX.[9] The launch vehicle is the largest and most powerful ever developed with a projected 150 metric tons (330,000 pounds) of payload capacity in a fully reusable configuration, and with a height of 120 meters (390 feet). The first stage of Starship is the most powerful rocket ever launched, as its 33 Raptor engines generate nominally more than 16,000,000 pounds-force (71,000,000 N) of thrust. This is roughly twice that of the Saturn V between 1967 and 1973, more than the SLS, which produced 8,800,000 pounds-force (39,000,000 N) of thrust at liftoff in 2022, and well above the 10,000,000 pounds-force (44,000,000 N) of thrust from the 30 engines that powered the Soviet Union's N1 rocket between 1969 and 1972.[10]

Both stages are designed to perform controlled landings at the launch site and be reflown multiple times. SpaceX plans to use the launch vehicle for various applications including satellite deployment, space tourism, and interplanetary spaceflight.[11][12]

Starting in 2019, SpaceX built several prototypes for the upper stage and launched them a total of 9 times, culminating with a May 5, 2021, launch of Starship SN15 which achieved a soft landing after 6 minutes.[13] After this, SpaceX continued reiterating builds of the upper stages, completed construction of several first stages, and continued ground tests without any flights while waiting for governmental launch clearances. An environmental review of the launch site concluded with the issuing of a 'mitigated FONSI' (Finding of No Significant Impact) ruling in June 2022, requiring the company to implement various mitigations to local wildlife and historical sites but otherwise permitting a launch license to be issued.[9]

A flight readiness review was completed on April 8, 2023.[11] A planned launch rehearsal scheduled for April 11 was later canceled.[14] The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) issued an orbital launch license for the vehicle on April 14, 2023.

Flight profile[edit]

The spacecraft flight plan was to conduct a powered flight until reaching the desired transatmospheric Earth orbit, estimated to be around 250 × 50 km (155 × 31 mi), which would have caused Starship to decay and re-enter the atmosphere after roughly 1 hour, 17 minutes of flight, nearly completing a full orbit.[5]

Though both Starship's rocket stages are planned to eventually be reusable, SpaceX planned this test flight to not make any soft-landing attempts on land and instead discard both of the rocket stages at the end of their flight.[15]

The test flight consisted of prototype vehicles Ship 24 and Booster 7. Both the booster and the spacecraft would have performed controlled touchdowns on the ocean surface.[5] According to filings with the Federal Communications Commission, the booster would have performed a boostback burn and targeted a landing about 20 miles (32 km) offshore in the Gulf of Mexico, while the Starship spacecraft would have targeted a landing in the Pacific Ocean about 62 miles (100 km) northwest of Kauai.[16]

Planned mission timeline[5]
Time Event April 17 April 20
−02:00:00 SpaceX Flight Director conducts poll and verifies go for propellant loading Success Success
−01:39:00 Super Heavy booster propellant load (liquid oxygen and liquid methane) underway Success Success
−01:22:00 Starship fuel loading (liquid methane) underway Success Success
−01:17:00 Starship oxidizer loading (liquid oxygen) underway Success Success
−00:16:40 Booster engine chill Success Success
−00:00:40 Fluid interfaces begin venting sequence Not passed Resumed after hold
−00:00:08 Booster ignition sequence begins — Success
−00:00:06 First stage engine ignition — Success
00:00:00 Liftoff — Success
00:00:55 Max q (moment of peak mechanical stress on the rocket) — Success
00:02:49 Main engine cutoff (MECO) — ?
00:02:52 Stage separation — Failure
00:02:57 Starship ignition — —
00:03:11 Booster boostback burn startup — —
00:04:06 Booster boostback burn shutdown — —
00:07:32 Booster is transonic — —
00:07:40 Booster landing burn startup — —
00:08:03 Booster splashdown — —
00:09:20 Starship engine cutoff (SECO) — —
01:17:21 Starship atmospheric re-entry interface — —
01:28:43 Starship is transonic — —
01:30:00 Starship Pacific impact — —

April 17 launch attempt[edit]

The Starship Super Heavy stack was loaded with propellant and set to launch at 13:20 UTC (8:20 am CDT). However, the launch was aborted due to a frozen pressurization valve on the Super Heavy booster (first stage) at T-8:05, leading to concerns surrounding the successful pressurization of Booster 7. Prior to the abort being called, SpaceX launch control worked on resolving the issue and proceeding with a launch the same day. However, due to low responsiveness from the valve as ignition loomed, SpaceX proceeded with a wet dress rehearsal and aborted the launch at T-40 seconds. SpaceX said it would require a minimum of 48 hours to recycle for a second attempt.[17][18]

April 20 launch[edit]

Radar scans from the National Weather Service radar in Brownsville, Texas

A second, 62-minute-long launch window opened at 8:28 am CDT (13:28 UTC) on Thursday, April 20, 2023.[19] Liftoff occurred at 08:33 CDT (13:33 UTC). Despite a successful lift-off from the orbital launch pad, the Super Heavy Booster experienced multiple Raptor engine failures throughout the flight. The vehicle reached an apogee of approximately 39 km before losing altitude and entering an uncontrolled tumble. As a result, the FTS (flight termination system) was initiated on both vehicles Starship Ship 24 and Super Heavy Booster 7, ending the flight test.[20] No injuries or public property damage were reported by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA).[8]

Following the outcome of the flight test, the FAA reported that an investigation would be overseen and "A return to flight of the Starship/Super Heavy vehicle is based on the FAA determining that any system, process or procedure related to the mishap does not affect public safety".[8]

Aftermath[edit]

The launch caused damage to the spaceport and surrounding infrastructure. Large pieces of debris were sent flying from the launch site, where a 25-foot crater had been created. The nearby city of Port Isabel, Texas was covered in thick sand.[21][22]

The launch was generally regarded as a test flight that furthered Starship's development progress, citing SpaceX's iterative and incremental development process.[23][24][25] Positive comments about the launch have been given by Bill Nelson, NASA administrator;[23] Josef Aschbacher, ESA Director General;[26] and Chris Hadfield, retired Canadian astronaut.[27] According to Ars Technica editor Eric Berger, to those in the launch industry, "getting the Super Heavy rocket and Starship upper stage off the launch pad was a huge success."[28]

University of Chicago space historian Jordan Brimm said that "it 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".[24] Bloomberg News space reporter Loren Grush said the explosion "highlights the challenges ahead for Musk’s grandiose plan for Starship to open up space to human travel", and that beyond the engineering work required for Starship to successfully land, SpaceX will still need to work on Starship's life support systems and ability to refuel in outer space. Grush also described the booster's first takeoff as a "win", and said that commercial rockets' first launches are rarely successful.[25]

See also[edit]

References[edit]

  1. ^ Wattles, Jackie; Vogt, Adrienne (April 20, 2023). "SpaceX's uncrewed Starship explodes on launch attempt". CNN. Archived from the original on April 21, 2023. Retrieved April 20, 2023.
  2. ^ Amos, Jonathan (April 20, 2023). "SpaceX Starship: Elon Musk's big rocket explodes on test flight". BBC News. Archived from the original on April 20, 2023. Retrieved April 20, 2023.
  3. ^ Amos, Jonathan (August 6, 2021). "Biggest ever rocket is assembled briefly in Texas". BBC News. Archived from the original on August 11, 2021. Retrieved May 30, 2022.
  4. ^ Jones, Andrew (April 15, 2023). "SpaceX's 1st Starship and Super Heavy launch: How it will work". Space.com. Archived from the original on April 19, 2023. Retrieved April 20, 2023.
  5. ^ a b c d "Starship Flight Test". SpaceX. April 11, 2023. Archived from the original on April 14, 2023. Retrieved April 11, 2022.
  6. ^ Wall, Mike (April 20, 2023). "SpaceX Starship's explosive test flight: What did we just see?". Space.com. Archived from the original on April 21, 2023. Retrieved April 20, 2023.
  7. ^ "So what was that? Was Starship's launch a failure or a success?". Ars Technica. April 20, 2023. Retrieved April 21, 2023.
  8. ^ a b c Davenport, Christian (April 20, 2023). "Unmanned Starship explodes over gulf after liftoff". The Washington Post. Archived from the original on April 20, 2023. Retrieved April 20, 2023.
  9. ^ a b "Starship". SpaceX. Archived from the original on February 3, 2023. Retrieved February 6, 2023.
  10. ^ Simpson, Clive (April 17, 2023). "How SpaceX's Starship stacks up to other rockets". Spaceflight Now. Archived from the original on April 17, 2023. Retrieved April 20, 2023.
  11. ^ a b Roulette, Joey (February 11, 2022). "What Is Starship? SpaceX Builds Its Next-Generation Rocket". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Archived from the original on May 12, 2022. Retrieved May 28, 2022.
  12. ^ Petrova, Magdalena (March 13, 2022). "Why Starship is the holy grail for SpaceX". CNBC. Archived from the original on May 28, 2022. Retrieved May 28, 2022.
  13. ^ Timmer, John (May 5, 2021). "SpaceX successfully lands a Starship test flight". Ars Technica. Archived from the original on May 5, 2021. Retrieved May 7, 2021.
  14. ^ Alcantarilla Romera, Alejandro (April 14, 2023). "Starship into final preps for launch targeting second half of April". NASASpaceFlight. Archived from the original on April 14, 2023. Retrieved April 15, 2023.
  15. ^ Berger, Eric (April 10, 2023). "SpaceX's Starship vehicle is ready to fly, just waiting for a launch license". Ars Technica. Archived from the original on April 11, 2023. Retrieved April 11, 2023.
  16. ^ "Starship Orbital - First Flight FCC Exhibit". Federal Communications Commission. Archived from the original on May 13, 2021. Retrieved May 28, 2022.
  17. ^ Wall, Mike (April 17, 2023). "SpaceX scrubs 1st space launch of giant Starship rocket due to fueling issue". Space.com. Archived from the original on April 17, 2023. Retrieved April 20, 2023.
  18. ^ Chang, Kenneth (April 17, 2023). "Highlights From SpaceX's Scrubbed Starship Rocket Launch Attempt". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Archived from the original on April 19, 2023. Retrieved April 20, 2023.
  19. ^ Clark, Stephen (April 17, 2023). "SpaceX's Starship test flight delayed until Thursday after valve problem". Spaceflight Now. Archived from the original on April 19, 2023. Retrieved April 19, 2023.
  20. ^ "Starship Flight Test". SpaceX. April 20, 2023. Archived from the original on April 14, 2023. Retrieved April 20, 2023.
  21. ^ Davenport, Christian (April 20, 2023). "SpaceX's Starship lifts off successfully, but explodes in first flight". The Washington Post. ISSN 0190-8286. Retrieved April 20, 2023.
  22. ^ Albeck-Ripka, Livia (April 21, 2023). "SpaceX's Starship Kicked Up a Dust Cloud, Leaving Texans With a Mess". The New York Times. Retrieved April 21, 2023.
  23. ^ a b Olson, Emily; Archie, Ayana (April 20, 2023). "SpaceX's massive rocket Starship explodes 4 minutes after liftoff". National Public Radio. Archived from the original on April 20, 2023. Retrieved April 20, 2023.
  24. ^ a b Dunn, Marcia (April 20, 2023). "SpaceX giant rocket explodes minutes after launch from Texas". Associated Press. Archived from the original on April 20, 2023. Retrieved April 20, 2023.
  25. ^ a b Grush, Loren (April 20, 2023). "Starship Explosion Shows Just How Far SpaceX Is From the Moon". Bloomberg News. Archived from the original on April 20, 2023. Retrieved April 20, 2023.
  26. ^ Therrien, Alex; Whitehead, Jamie (April 20, 2023). "SpaceX Starship live: SpaceX Starship finally launches but blows up after take-off". BBC News. Archived from the original on April 20, 2023. Retrieved April 20, 2023.
  27. ^ CTV News (April 20, 2023). "Chris Hadfield on SpaceX rocket exploding: It was 'enormously successful'". YouTube. Archived from the original on April 20, 2023. Retrieved April 21, 2023.
  28. ^ Berger, Eric (April 20, 2023). "So what was that? Was Starship's launch a failure or a success?". Ars Technica. Retrieved April 21, 2023.
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