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Thursday, March 28, 2024

Elon Musk caused a stir. Starship test ship causes a fire in the reserve

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SpaceX has successfully completed static testing of six Starship 24 engines. This is a very important milestone in the prototype test program. The attempt, however, had its unfortunate consequences.

SpaceX, Elon Musk’s company that is working with NASA to deliver astronauts and supplies to the International Space Station, and expanding the Starlink Internet satellite network, among others, is also working on another very important program. At the Boca Chica base in Texas, the company is building a new rocket that will take people to the moon as part of the Artemis mission, but its main goal is a manned flight to Mars.

SpaceX is testing Starship

The Texas SpaceX database has been a veritable proving ground for several months now. It is known that Elon Musk’s company loves to learn from its mistakes, so the development of a new rocket is carried out through a continuous series of tests and experiments on successive versions of the prototype. The initial stages were very spectacular, as SpaceX sent new vehicles that looked like a grain silo or a large water tank into the air to ever higher ceilings.

For a long time, Starship prototypes, including the current number 24, hardly resembled the final version of the car. Their tests have also become more sophisticated and give less impressive flashes. Fans can watch a series of tests of the engines of both the ship itself and the first part of the rocket, that is, the launch vehicle, the task of which will be to put the ship into orbit.

Fire in Boca Chica

On September 8, in the evening hours of Polish time, SpaceX conducted another static test of the Starship 24 engines without lifting the car off the ground. The company fired six powerful Raptor engines at the same time. They were active for about six seconds, which was extremely loud, spectacular, but had side effects.

The unique and seemingly successful test of the engine gave SpaceX not only a wealth of data needed for the upcoming first flight to low Earth orbit, but also created a significant image problem for the company. Immediately after the test, when the dust exploded with powerful engines, it was revealed that the fire emanating from their nozzles caused the grass just outside the base fence to ignite. Protection from water curtains proved ineffective, and nature in the nature reserve surrounding the SpaceX complex caught fire. Firefighters were on site to monitor developments, but it was found that the direction of the wind would allow the fire to be brought under control.

The nature around the base is not easy for SpaceX. The surrounding marshes and grasslands are home to many animal species. As a result of the Starship tests, more than just fire and noise appeared in the area. The remains of the prototypes that exploded during the tests also fell on the territories surrounding the base more than once. However, such a view, as during yesterday’s tests, happened only for the first time.

Collected: Marcin Haber
Source: WPROST.pl

Source: Wprost

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