SpaceX Starship OFT-2

[Smokin Joe]

From Reddit:

If the #Starship self-destruct mechanism indeed took place when it was about to shut off its engines, then this should be the approximate area where it #disintegrated:

I was watching the video feed of the Starship, and noticed those puffs of gas, then the final RUD. When I saw the gas, I figured something was wrong. After all, the emissions from the vehicle are supposed to be highly controlled and generally in one direction.

I had also noticed that the altitude had stabilized, then dropped by 1 km, which I didn't think was part of the flight plan, and may have further heralded a problem in fuel/oxidizer flow or pressure. Then it was over.   

Still, this represents progress. The difficulties appear to be a result of damage incurred during the hot staging, even though the separation was successful. Hopefully, the data gathered will allow these issues to be resolved.

As a reminder, early efforts in space programs do not always go well:


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g79K-R7xTFo

We learn from our mistakes, before we try manned flight, and even then, there are no guarantees.

[DB]

I was wondering if those momentary gas streams at the top end after separation were steering jets to orient the first stage for optimum position to return back to earth - before it exploded.

[Elderberry]

SpaceX Starship Launch 2 (IFT2) Explained!
Marcus House  Nov 19, 2023

Here we have the colossal SpaceX Starship Launch 2 (IFT2) Explained!

The day arrived where SpaceX has proved that all those improvements to the launch site and launch vehicle have paid off! Yes, on Saturday the 18th of November, 2023! That day my friends, the newest record breaking Starship full stack flew for the second time ever! Oh boy was this one improved from the last, yet still a nail biting spectacle.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PmiI_up0G2Y

[DB]

Thank you for the update/description of the flight.

[Elderberry]

SpaceX
@SpaceX

From the entire SpaceX team, thank you to our customers, Cameron County, spaceflight fans, and the wider community for the continued support and encouragement.

Elon Musk
@elonmusk

Thanks also to @FAANews
 and @NFWFnews
 for rapid approval of a complex launch license

[Elderberry]

Elon Musk
@elonmusk

Starship hot stage separation

[catfish1957]

FAA to oversee investigation of SpaceX's explosive 2nd Starship flight

Anyone want to wager the probability that the FAA wouldn't gotten their sneaky grubby little fingers into this investigation, if Musk hadn't bought Twitter.

Sorry but I view every swamp fed regulatory puke in the same vein as Walter Peck froom Ghostbusters.   Prove me wrong.

[Smokin Joe]

Anyone want to wager the probability that the FAA wouldn't gotten their sneaky grubby little fingers into this investigation, if Musk hadn't bought Twitter.

Sorry but I view every swamp fed regulatory puke in the same vein as Walter Peck froom Ghostbusters.   Prove me wrong.

I'd love to argue, but that has been my suspicion also. Narrative busting is highly unwelcome by the Administration and the rest of their toadies.

Not just the FAA, but they threw environmental regulators at him also.

He must not be handing out the baksheesh like the MIC.

[Elderberry]

Starship’s 33 Engines Created The Mother Of All ‘Shock Diamonds’

The War Zone by Oliver Parken 11/20/2023

The exhaust from the massive cluster of Raptor engines in Starship’s booster combined to create a gigantic ‘shock diamond’ during launch.

SpaceX’s massive Starship rocket lifted off for its second test flight over the weekend. Among the stunning imagery and video to have emerged from the launch that caught our attention was the sight of its super-heavy rocket booster generating gargantuan "mach diamonds" or "shock diamonds." What’s particularly impressive is how the rocket booster’s 33 Raptor engines combined to create a perfectly formed mach diamond as the stack lifted off the pad.

Given how incredible this example of physics visualized on a grand scale looks in the photos, we thought it was an opportune moment to dig deeper into the science behind them, as well as explain what makes their unique appearance during the recent Starship test launch so intriguing. 

The 'Starship' system, comprised of a super-heavy rocket booster and spacecraft, took off from SpaceX’s Starbase facility near Boca Chica Beach in South Texas on November 18. In a significant development for SpaceX, and in comparison to the first Starship test launch in April, the rocket booster was successfully able to separate from the spacecraft. This was before the rocket booster exploded over the Gulf of Mexico at an altitude of 91 miles (148 kilometers). Moreover, contact was lost with the spacecraft after it reached space, with the company having to trigger its self-destruct feature shortly thereafter. Eventually, Space X intends for its Starship system to carry crew and cargo to Earth orbit, the Moon, Mars and beyond.

More: https://www.thedrive.com/the-war-zone/starships-33-engines-created-the-mother-of-all-shock-diamonds

[Elderberry]

SpaceX
@SpaceX

Slow motion tracking shot of Super Heavy's 33 Raptor engines shortly after liftoff

https://twitter.com/SpaceX/status/1727054554947268685

[Elderberry]

Watch SpaceX's Starship explode in astronomer's stunning telescope footage (video)

Space.com By Brett Tingley 11/22/2023

'There it was, spinning out of control, spewing clouds of gas in multiple directions.'

The second test flight of SpaceX's Starship was a photogenic one.

On Saturday (Nov. 18), the massive Starship rocket launched for the second time ever, lifting off from SpaceX's Starbase facility in Boca Chica, Texas. The Super Heavy booster of the 400-foot-tall (122 meters) rocket exploded shortly after stage separation, while the upper-stage Starship vehicle reached an altitude of 91 miles (148 kilometers), well above the 62-mile (100 km) boundary of space before it, too, experienced what SpaceX refers to as a "rapid unscheduled disassembly."

Despite both parts of the vehicle exploding, SpaceX considers the test flight a success. "All 33 Raptor engines on the Super Heavy Booster started up successfully and, for the first time, completed a full-duration burn during ascent," SpaceX wrote in a recent mission update.

As spaceflight fans and photographers around Boca Chica pointed their cameras to the skies to document the spectacle, Scott Ferguson of Astronomy Live was watching from much farther away with a different kind of instrument: A telescope. Observing from the village of Islamorada in the Florida Keys, Ferguson captured an incredible view of Starship's upper stage as it exploded in suborbital space.

More: https://www.space.com/spacex-starship-telescope-astronomer-video


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CTcSMh4VYow&t=0s

[Elderberry]

Starship & Superheavy Become The Biggest Rocket In Space.... Before Exploding

Scott Manley Nov 18, 2023

SpaceX finally got to fly their second integrated flight test of the fully reusable Starship & Superheavy system, the launch was spectacular, excitement had been guaranteed and excitement was delivered. The reusable part however remains elusive for now, but I look forward to seeing the next launch be even more successful.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hF2C7xE9Mj4

[Elderberry]

SpaceX Starship Booster 9 Tank Slosh simulation


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j9WFmItGrKk&t=0s

[Smokin Joe]

SpaceX Starship Booster 9 Tank Slosh simulation


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j9WFmItGrKk&t=0s

Needs batter baffles...

[Elderberry]

Everyday Astronaut
@Erdayastronaut
Onboard footage exists from IFT-2!!! And those tracking shots of Starship's second stage burning are incredible!!! I think flight three is going to happen much sooner than IFT-1 to IFT-2 and I expect it to be a much more successful test! I can't wait!

SpaceX
@SpaceX
·
13m
At dawn from the gateway to Mars, the launch of Starship’s second flight test

https://twitter.com/SpaceX/status/1732824684683784516

[Elderberry]

What about it!?
@FelixSchlang
·
According to @elonmusk
 Starship IFT2 would have made it to orbit without a problem if it had a payload.

Venting of excess liquid Oxygen due to a lighter Rocket because of the missing payload created a fire and ultimately lead to the explosion. 🔥

https://twitter.com/FelixSchlang/status/1745973337874919918