SpaceX loses contact with spacecraft during the latest Starship large rocket test flight
Nearly two months after the explosion rained burning debris, SpaceX launched another Mammoth Starship rocket on Thursday, but lost several minutes in the test flight as the spacecraft fell.
The 403-foot (123 meters) rocket exploded a little from Texas before sunset. SpaceX grabbed the first stage booster with a huge mechanical weapon, but the engine on the spacecraft on the top started to shut down because it scratched eastward because it could have been a controlled entrance in the Indian Ocean, half a world. When the spacecraft enters an out-of-control rotation, the contact loses contact.
The space flight could have lasted for an hour and could not have released simulated satellites into space as planned. The spacecraft reached nearly 90 miles (150 kilometers) at altitude before the troublesome attack. Its decline is not yet known.
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“Unfortunately, this happened last time, so we have some practice now,” SpaceX flight commentator Dan Huot said from the launch site.
NASA has booked Starship to land its astronauts on the moon later this decade. SpaceX’s Elon Musk aims to own Starship, the largest and most powerful rocket in the world.
As last time, once the spacecraft reaches space in this test flight as a practice for future missions, the spacecraft has four simulated satellites to be released. They are similar to SpaceX’s Starlink Internet satellites, where thousands of currently orbit the Earth, could have fallen down after a brief smell of space.
The flap, computer and fuel system of the Starship was redesigned to prepare for the next big step: return the spacecraft like a booster to the launch site.
In the last demonstration, SpaceX captured the booster on the launch pad, but a few minutes later the spacecraft exploded on the Atlantic Ocean. No injuries or significant damage were reported.
The leaked fuel triggered a series of fires that shut down the spacecraft’s engines, according to the investigation still underway. The on-board self-destruct system is started as planned.
SpaceX said it made some improvements to the spacecraft after the accident, and the Federal Aviation Administration recently cleared the Starship again for release.
Starships soared from the tip of Texas’ southernmost tip near the Mexican border. SpaceX is building another Starship complex in Cape Canaveral, Florida, the company’s smaller Falcon rocket that transports astronauts and satellites to orbit.
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The Associated Press Department of Health and Science has received support from the Science and Education Media Group at Howard Hughes Medical School and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. AP is responsible for all content.