The SpaceX prototype Starship failed to land on the ground this week. This is the fourth time the company has tried to launch a spacecraft. The first three times, the craft exploded upon touchdown. Elon Musk, the company’s founder, tweeted something significant shortly after the rocket broke up in the thick fog of south Texas. While it briefly landed on solid ground, the vehicle tilted at an angle. The crew was unable to land the capsule.
A high-altitude test flight conducted by the Starship SN9 and SN8 failed on the first attempt. After the first engine burnt out, the vehicle started reorienting itself in a vertical position. Once it hit the ground, the vehicle remained in this position for the rest of its flight. The company was forced to land the crashed ship five miles away from the launch site, but it was unable to make a successful landing.
The first prototype of the Starship had already performed multiple high-altitude flights. However, the second prototype had problems during the landing phase. The rocket’s two Raptor rocket engines failed to ignite, which caused the vehicle to swing around in a wildly uncontrolled manner. The video froze five minutes after the rocket lifted off. Although the video does not show how the vehicle landed, the mission has shown the progress that SpaceX has made so far.
The launch of the SN9 and SN8 had a few complications. One of the problems occurred when the second engine did not relight. The vehicle began swinging into a vertical position and never stopped. It landed on the ground after a couple of weeks. It was later discovered that both vehicles were unable to return to orbit. That was the first failure of the SN8 and SN9. In addition to the problems with the upper stage rocket, SpaceX also faced difficulties when it came to reentering Earth’s atmosphere.
The first Starship prototype was successfully launched in orbit on May 14, 2018. It was later destroyed by a single Raptor rocket engine, which resulted in an uncontrollable crash. As a result, the SN8 and SN9 were destroyed in a collision at high altitude on August 9, 2016. Their engines failed to relight and the vehicles swung around forever. Eventually, the SN9 crashed into the ground.
The second failure of the SN8 and SN9 is the result of the second failed test. In a high-altitude test launch, both vehicles were pushed to failure. This slowed the process of the first two SN8 and SN9, and even worsened the situation. The SN9’s first test launch was a total disaster, and Elon Musk had to relaunch the SN7.1 to complete its mission.
The test rocket was a failure. It was too high to land safely. The SN9 and SN8 were lost during a high-altitude test flight. After reaching an altitude of 10km, one of the Raptor rockets cut out in sequence. The vehicle then reoriented itself, and never stopped swinging. Eventually, the SN8 and SN9 landed safely on the ground.
The SpaceX SN8 and SN9 rockets were a test flight, which is an important step in the process of developing a new generation of rockets. In the SN8, the vehicle demonstrated controlled belly flops, but it experienced trouble during landing and afterward. In the SN9, the launch vehicle had no control systems and failed to relight after the rocket had landed. The video froze at 5:49 after liftoff.
After the SN8 and SN9 were able to reach the desired altitude, they failed to return. The SN9 continued swinging into a horizontal position until it crashed into the ground. During the SN9’s final flight, the two SN8s failed. A faulty Raptor rocket engine relit, and the vehicle began swinging back and forth. The SN9 also reoriented itself while in midair. The SN8 was not able to stop swinging and eventually landed on the ground.
The second test flight was a success for SpaceX. The company is proud of its achievement. Its successful launch demonstrated how far the space company has come in the last 60 years. By 2023, Musk is hoping to make space travel affordable. Its first flight will occur outside of Brownsville, Texas. It will be the first commercially available vehicle to land on the moon. But why did the test fail? Its mission is unclear.