15 years after SpaceX’s second rocket launch with a Falcon 1, and six months following the maiden flight of the Starship, the second test flight of a Starship took place early this morning at 7 a.m. local time. It proved notably more successful than the initial flight, although the Starship failed to reach its intended orbit.
The Super Heavy booster rocket exploded shortly after successful stage separation, with the Starship itself detonating a few minutes later, just before engine cutoff. According to SpaceX, this was due to a controlled detonation.
For this second flight, the Starship was equipped with improved Raptor engines, touted to be more reliable. They now feature an electric thrust vector control instead of hydraulic, allowing for nozzle articulation. In the first flight, 6 out of 33 engines failed either before or shortly after liftoff. This time, there were no reported failures.
Despite this, the thrust from the remaining engines was more than enough to shatter the simple concrete pads beneath the launch platform, causing concrete chunks and debris to damage the surrounding infrastructure and parked vehicles. These structures have since been replaced with a sturdier, water-cooled design.
New stage separation brings new challenges
Due to repair work and the necessity for more meticulous safety inspections, the second flight was delayed by over six months, instead of the planned two to three months—a significant setback for SpaceX. An additional day was required to replace engines on some grid fins after a malfunction was discovered on the launch pad just before liftoff.
The stage separation was also revised and simplified to achieve higher performance and better reliability. Three of the six Starship engines are now ignited at reduced thrust just before separation, with a heat shield protecting the methane tank of the first stage from the heat and thrust of the Raptor engines.
This separation method has traditionally been employed in Russian rockets. The advantage lies in keeping the upper stage from experiencing weightlessness, preventing fuel issues in the tanks that could affect ignition.
Additionally, it reduces the time needed to reach orbit, during which the rocket compensates for velocity losses due to Earth’s gravity using its engines. With a faster stage separation, the rocket consumes less fuel. SpaceX claims this could increase payload capacity by up to ten percent.
The stage separation during the flight was indeed successful. However, for reuse, the Super Heavy booster needs to return for landing, which was not achieved in this instance.
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