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SpaceX Starship rocket explodes minutes after launch from Texas

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Re: SpaceX Starship rocket explodes minutes after launch from Texas

#16

Success was defined as the rocket leaving the launchpad. Suggesting that this test “failed” is at best a mischaracterisation.

Failure doesn’t have to have a negative connotation, we just match it as so in our culture. The full mission plan wasn’t achieved and the rocket did in fact fail. That said, it achieved precisely what they hoped it would achieve as failure was an expected and acceptable outcome.

Re: SpaceX Starship rocket explodes minutes after launch from Texas

#17
People always joke that a success like this will be blasted by the media as a failure, but it's the most predictable thing ever. Massive success today for SpaceX but the story is massive failure. So silly.

I'm as anti-Musk as the next, but it's also weird to see so many people gleeful that Musk must be so embarrassed at this 'massive failure'. Like, how uninformed do you have to be to think that Elon would be humiliated by such a resounding success? Oy.

Re: SpaceX Starship rocket explodes minutes after launch from Texas

#18
post #5

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27 of 33 engines fired. Performance was sub-nominal. When it was time for separation the vehicle did multiple clearly unplanned flips (during all of this the broadcast was talking about how great of a success this was, though the employees had quieted significantly knowing this was not going well). Add that Elon was looking pretty grim.

Making it clear of the tower seems like a remarkably low bar, so if that really was the measure of success, this thing is going to be ready for missions in about three decades. Like what an incredibly low accomplishment that would be.

And of course I feel overwhelmingly certain SpaceX doesn't consider this a success. The face-saving they put out for the sycophants to echo doesn't match the reality that this test proved extraordinarily little.

Re: SpaceX Starship rocket explodes minutes after launch from Texas

#19

Very reminiscent of Soviet N1 rocket. Same concept. Similar problems.

I had the same thought while watching! You could see the asymmetry in the lit engines as it climbed and I was wondering how long the control system could take it before losing it.
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