In scientific fields, researchers conduct many tests and experiments to reach the desired final outcome. To the outside eye, sometimes these tests can appear to be failures, such as when your rocket explodes mid-flight, but they are actually teachable moments in the long process of success.
This was the case of SpaceX's Starship launch on Thursday, April 20, 2023. Starship might have exploded, but the flight test will be a valuable learning experience in the bigger picture. SpaceX hopes that the rocket will one day be able to carry 100 people to Mars.
Starship is the world’s most powerful rocket, measuring 400 feet high. It took off from Boca Chica, Texas, at around 8:28 a.m. local time. Its explosion occurred because the rocket did not separate from its booster like it was supposed to.
This failed separation caused the rocket to spin, then explode. At the time of the explosion, it was traveling around 1,300 mph 18 miles above the earth. Thankfully, no one was onboard.
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The flight’s ultimate goal was to orbit around the earth. It would then crash into the ocean near Hawaii. Maybe it had a timeshare.
The ground crew, control center, and space enthusiasts watching cheered on the launch. Even though it ultimately exploded, it was an important step toward progress. The long-term goal is sending humans back to the Moon and then Mars.
Elon Musk, owner of SpaceX, took to Twitter to congratulate his team. “Congrats @SpaceX team on an exciting test launch of Starship! Learned a lot for next test launch in a few months,” he wrote.
Launch commentators had a little fun with the situation. “Starship just experienced what we call a rapid, unscheduled disassembly,” they cheekily said. “As we promised, excitement is guaranteed. Starship gave us a rather spectacular end to what was truly an incredible test.”
SpaceX emphasized the mission's success despite the explosion. “With a test like this, success comes from what we learn, and today’s test will help us improve Starship’s reliability as SpaceX seeks to make life multi-planetary,” the company tweeted.
This launch was the maiden voyage of the first-stage booster, which utilizes 33 methane-fueled engines. Starship has been launched seven times without it.
NASA and SpaceX are partnering on Starship. They have a $2.9 billion contract to complete an unmanned test flight to the moon before sending people in 2025 and 2027.
It is unknown at this time what the cost of launching the exploded rocket was. SpaceX sells Falcon 9 launches for $62 million. The Falcon Heavy goes for $90 million. It is known that the Starship's fuel costs $900,000, so we can infer it was not cheap.
