The SpaceX Mars rocket prototype explodes again when it lands

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All three rocket engines ignited, shut down, and then re-ignited for landing as planned, but the rocket exploded into a ball of fire as it returned to the launch pad. It was not immediately clear what went wrong.

SPaceX engineer John Insprucker said in the company’s live broadcast of the event that much of the test flight “looked very good” and that engineers were able to gather data to help improve the design of the spacecraft throughout the flight, which reached about 10 km, or six miles, high.

“We demonstrated the ability to move the engines to the landing gear tanks, the subsonic re-entry seemed very good and stable,” Insprucker said. “We just worked a little on that landing.”

The launch of the test comes after the 160-foot-tall rocket prototype got stuck in the launch pad in Texas over the weekend. Last week it was about to take off for the launch of the test, but it remained on the ground because SpaceX violated a public safety agreement it had with federal regulators during a previous test launch, according to the Administration Federal Aviation.

Starship | SN9 | High altitude flight test
Last Thursday, with Starship SN9 it was powered up and could be launched at any timet, the FAA sent out a startling notice saying the launch had been scrubbed.
The FAA, which oversees U.S. airspace and grants rocket launch licenses, ordered SpaceX to halt operations at its South Texas test facility “that could affect public safety.” tell the agency. After refusing to comment on its investigation, which was first reported by The Verge, the FAA said Tuesday that it concluded this week that SpaceX had taken “corrective action” and that it now meets safety standards. public. The agency did not disclose the nature of the public safety issue or the corrective measures taken.
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The FAA restored SpaceX’s authorization to launch its rocket prototypes Monday afternoon, according to an agency statement.

The company did not respond to requests for comment on this story, nor did it respond to requests for comment in more than eight months.

Elon Musk, CEO of SpaceX, who used Twitter published the FAA last week, wrote Tuesday morning that it would be “Off Twitter for a while. “

At the root of the rupture between SpaceX and the FAA was a SpaceX test launch in December of a prototype known as Starship SN8, one of the first prototypes the company has built in its efforts to design a capable rocket. of transporting the first humans to Mars. Prior to that launch, SpaceX had “sought a waiver to exceed the maximum public risk allowed by federal safety regulations,” according to the FAA, but the agency denied that request.

But SpaceX proceeded with launching the test anyway and launched the vehicle in a high-altitude “jump test” that saw how it successfully reached the desired height and performed a series of aerial stunts. before landing explosively at its launch site.

It is unclear whether the FAA would have investigated the company regardless of whether SN8 landed successfully.

The Mars X rocket prototype exploded yesterday. This is what happened on the flight

The FAA has already focused on reconfiguring its launch license process to make it more “streamlined.” But it’s unclear whether the updated procedures, which are expected to take effect in the near future, would have helped SpaceX quickly gain permission to relax public security restrictions from its launch license.

SpaceX already had another prototype of Starship, SN10, assembled. It’s unclear when the company will attempt to launch it, but over the weekend, the company launched the vehicle down a launch pad adjacent to where it took off the SN9.

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