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After the postponed launch on Monday (17), the Elon Musk, SpaceX, launches the Starship, its largest rocket ever built. The departure of the spacecraft, scheduled for 9:28 am in the state of Texas (USA), which corresponds to 10:28 am in Brasilia time, happened moments later. To soften the spirits of those who were waiting, Musk published on the social network he commands as Chief Executive Officer (CEO), Twitter, that Starship takes off this Thursday (20) and that “all systems are green for launch”, to confirm that everything was right for takeoff. 6j3kn
However, a few minutes later, the Starship exploded before flight completion. Check here the most relevant information released so far about the launch of SpaceX and the aftermath of the explosion of the world's largest rocket.
What is SpaceX's Starship rocket 3l6cz
greater than F, capable of carrying (at least) 150 tons during a single flight, 33 Raptor-type engines —liquid fuel combustion cycle engine, in cryogenics and with high capacity. These are some features that make the Starship be a rocket without equal until today. Its size also differentiates it from other rockets already built: it is three times the height of Christ the Redeemer, if considered together with the propellant.
Its potential is already being closely observed by the United States space agency, the NASA. Together, the two organizations already want to make at least 100 more test flights. The president of SpaceX himself has said that he wants to carry out these other tests, but without any crew.
“[..] I don't think we will do 100 Starship flights next year, but maybe (in) 2025 we will do 100 flights.”
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Failed first attempt 141x4f
the take-off of Starship, scheduled for the 17th of April, did not come to fruition due to a problem with the propulsion system's engines. It contains 33 engines in all, and they must work in sync for everything to run smoothly — which was not the case on Monday. Earlier this week, Musk claimed that some components were damaged by temperature issues.
"A pressurization valve appears to be frozen, so unless it starts operating soon there will be no launch."
Elon Musk, in a tweet on Monday (17).
Other ships from SpaceX they have had previous failures, so the company's CEO was not so hopeful about the first major launch. Although there was not much concern on the part of Musk, Federal Aviation istration (FAA, acronym in English for the Federal Aviation istration of the United States), carried out inspections attesting to the conditions of the rocket. A FAA equivalent to the National Civil Aviation Agency (ANAC) from Brazil. The United States agency approved the flight, after inspection:
“[…] The FAA has determined that SpaceX has met all requirements for safety, environment, policy, payload, airspace integration, and financial responsibility.”
FAA
See the second release (with video) 602i2d
The launch began around 10:34 am and, after the first moments of the launch, the rocket presented a curved trajectory, catching fire in a short period of time. The situation was surprising not only because it interfered with performance, but because before the SpaceX I had said that today's test was aimed at "inform and improve the likelihood of success” of the company's space technology. Check out the video of today's live takeoff broadcast below, available on the YouTube channel. YouTube da SpaceX:
The course was initially planned to go around the Earth completely until it landed near Hawaii. This whole journey was supposed to take around 5 hours, but it was cancelled. The modification of the initial plan resulted in a 90-minute break. That is, the focus of today's takeoff was just the departure of the rocket from the base in Brownsville, in the state of Texas, as part of a preparation for the next launches.
Why is this launch considered a success, even after the explosion? xn6m
The information released by SpaceX, through the company's engineering , Kate Tice, realize that the explosion happened in a quick instant. That is, the reasons behind the explosion have not been disclosed for sure, yet, and occurred as part of the test. The moment came when the Starship entered a curved route.
Luckily, the craft was unmanned. Furthermore, the rocket exploded just in time for the final automated flight system. On Twitter, the SpaceX softened the situation, saying that today's takeoff "will help improve Starship's reliability."
Specialists in launching rockets evaluate that the success of the launch, even with the explosion during the flight, is encouraging. The engine that was in the rocket launched today had a lot of weight, so getting off the ground is already a great achievement. Furthermore, the cost value for production and the time to produce a rocket super heavy, and in Starship, are unthinkable for a body like the NASA. Therefore, even if there is a failure like this, executing a flight like this already paves the way for more promising future tests.
tests and missions 2c2a1k
The plan Musk like the rocket Starship is to make it possible to transport people both to the Moon and to Mars in the future. The CEO's plan SpaceX is also to place satellites of Starlink into space, from the successful launch of the rocket. Carrying out these plans will require that the technologies of Starship have good components, especially when it comes to the thrusters.
A NASA already signed a partnership with the company in its mission Artemis trip to the Moon, whose third phase is scheduled for 2025. In April 2021, the agency signed a contract worth 2,9 billion dollars and then decided to expand plans for a landing on the moon with technology from SpaceX in 2027. Despite today's explosion, the SpaceX confirmed that there will be more releases in the coming months, but did not confirm any new dates.
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Source: NPR | Verge | Telegraph | Ars Technica
