SpaceX CEO Elon Musk has finally broken his silence over the Starship SN9 explosion on February 2nd. In response to a user on Twitter, Musk admitted they were “too stupid” to start just two engines to land. He then said that next time they would try the “pull up” method.
The second full test flight of its Space X spacecraft was launched on February 2 and saw SN9 traveling a few miles in the air. The vehicle flew for a moment and then performed a belly maneuver in the form of a failure on the descent before landing explosively again in the hatch. Subsequent reports claimed that one of its two Raptor engines did not start again before returning to land, causing SN9 to travel too fast to make a safe landing.
The question was asked by a Twitter user by the name of “Madoverlord.” In a tweet to Musk, he asked why only two engines ignited during the landing. “Why don’t you light all three, turn around, then pick the two best and turn off the other one?” added. In response, Musk wrote, “We were too dumb.”
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The FAA will launch the investigation
When the second complete SpaceX test flight of its futuristic, bullet-shaped spacecraft ended in another fire crash that landed on Feb. 2, the Federal Aviation Administration said it would oversee an investigation about the incident. Elon Musk’s company launched its latest Starship prototype from the southeastern tip of Texas two months after the previous test ended in an equally explosive belly failure. The destroyed vehicle, SpaceX’s SN9 spacecraft, was a first prototype of a rocket that the company hopes will bring the first humans to the red planet.
On Tuesday, the rocket was launched on a test flight at high altitude and had traveled a few miles in the air. The vehicle flew for a moment and then performed a belly maneuver in the form of a failure on the descent before landing explosively again in the hatch. Following the failed launch, the FAA said its top priority in regulating commercial space transportation is to ensure operations are safe, even if there is an anomaly.
Read: Starship SN9 scrubbed by FAA; Elon Musk takes SN10 in his place; Read the details
Read: The second flight of the SpaceX spacecraft ends with another Kaboom