Member-only story
Will Lockett
Follow
Predict
—
44
Share
Over the past two decades, SpaceX has continuously smashed past expectations and achieved feats that have embarrassed the likes of NASA and ESA. Their rockets are so damn good that they have kickstarted a new-age space race, with every other billionaire seeming to follow suit and funding their own space venture. But, Musk’s latest offering, the Starship, should bury any potential competition with the launch payloads they can only dream of, and launch costs cheaper than eBay postage and packing. However, this revolutionary rocket seems to be having a hard time getting off the ground and has repeatedly landed Musk in hot water. In fact, Starship’s new launch pad may have just landed SpaceX in serious trouble yet again! So, what’s going on with Musk’s pride and joy?
Let’s start at the beginning. Earlier this year, SpaceX conducted their first-ever full orbital launch of Starship, and while the rocket did get off the ground, there were some serious issues with this launch attempt.
I have covered these issues in a previous article (which you can read here), but here is a quick recap. Unlike other large rockets, SpaceX opted to use a raised launch pad rather than flame trenches, which dissipate heat and launch force far more effectively. This is likely because such a pad is quicker and cheaper to build, especially at their Texas launch site. But it turns out the launch pad wasn’t fully built and was missing the water-cooled steel plate that would take the direct force of the rocket engines. Musk could have waited for this part before launching, but he wanted to launch on April 20th (because he is cool, I guess?), so they did some static fire tests and concluded that the pad should survive the launch.
Needless to say, on launch day, SpaceX engineers had egg on their collective faces as the launch pad was disintegrated by Starship. In fact, all that was left of the launch pad was a giant crater and some loose bits of concrete. Pulverised soil and concrete were spread for miles and coated the federally protected nature reserve surrounding the launch site (more on that in a second). It seems the harsh vibrations of the launchpad’s destruction may have had some adverse effects on the rocket too, as some of the booster’s engines appeared…
—
—
44
Predict
Journalist passionate about cutting edge technology, space and fighting climate change. Buy my latest book at https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0BRPPVR5Z
Will Lockett
in
Predict
—
37
Katrina Paulson
in
Predict
—
39
Adrien Book
in
Predict
—
24
Will Lockett
in
Predict
—
33
Scott Galloway
—
117
Tomas Pueyo
—
83
Naleen Mitchell
in
Bouncin’ and Behavin’ Blogs
—
110
Martin Knapp
in
InsiderFinance Wire
—
32
Kelly Eden | Essayist | Writing Coach
in
An Injustice!
—
116
Joe Duncan
in
Sexography
—
17
Help
Status
Writers
Blog
Careers
Privacy
Terms
About
Text to speech
Teams