Third altitude test of a prototype spacecraft SpaceX ended with a successful landing on March 3, and then, moments later, it ended for the second time with an explosion.
Although tThe SN10, as the prototype was known, joined its two most recent predecessors in the great fire beyond, still celebrated as a success to become the first by Elon Musk linked to Mars Prototypes of starships to attach the landing. On Tuesday, Musk went on Twitter work up on why the SN10 also came in a bit and clarified that there were a number of solutions is already in the works for the next prototype in the series, the SN11.
“The SN10 engine had little thrust due to (probably) the partial ingestion of helium from the fuel tank, ”tweeted Musk. “Impact of crushed legs of 10 m / s and part of the skirt “.
In later tweets, Musk confirmed that it was probably the result of helium ingestion a pressurization system that had been added to the CH4 head tank to correct an error that had occurred previously with the SN8.
“If autogenous pressurization had been used, it is likely that the CH4 bubbles would have become liquid again, ”Musk said. he wrote. “Helium in the head was used to prevent the ullage from collapsing, which happened on the previous flight. My fault for approving. It sounded good at the time. “
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Video images of the launch of the SN10 and subsequent soft landing in the SpaceX test facility a Boca Chica, Texas, shows the incoming rocket for a quick landing before settling in inclined angle, slightly on. Almost a full minute later successfully completing the test flight, the rocket explodes in a massive fireball.
Musk’s tweet responded to a series of photos posted by a photographer that appeared capturing SpaceX employees testing the SN11’s landing legs in order to to make sure they will deploy properly while preparing for your own impending test flight. While SN11 is currently sitting on the Boca Chica launch pad, SpaceX is no still confirmed exactly when the next flight test is scheduled occur, although some industry experts estimate it could be ready throw away so soon like next week.