SpaceX Starship rocket prototype nails landing... then blows up

 

Maxar’s WorldView-3 satellite shows close up of SpaceX Starship SN10 launch facilities at Boca Chica, Texas, U.S. March 3, 2021. Satellite image (copyright) 2021 Maxar Technologies/Handout via REUTERS

 

(Reuters) - The third time appeared to be the charm for Elon Musk's Starship rocket - until it wasn't.

 

The latest heavy-duty launch vehicle prototype from SpaceX soared flawlessly into the sky in a high-altitude test blast-off on Wednesday from Boca Chica, Texas, then flew itself back to Earth to achieve the first upright landing for a Starship model.

 

But the triumph was short-lived. Listing slightly to one side as an automated fire-suppression system trained a stream of water on flames still burning at the base of the rocket, the spacecraft blew itself to pieces about eight minutes after touchdown.

 

It was the third such landing attempt to end in a fireball after an otherwise successful test flight for the Starship, being developed by SpaceX to carry humans and 100 tons of cargo on future missions to the moon and Mars.

 

For Musk, the billionaire SpaceX founder who also heads the electric carmaker Tesla Inc, the outcome was mixed news.

 

The Starship SN10 came far closer to achieving a safe, vertical touchdown than two previous models - SN8 in December and SN9 in February. In a tweet responding to tempered congratulations from an admirer of his work, Musk replied, "RIP SN10, honorable discharge."

 

Elon Musk's SpaceX managed to successfully land one of its Starship prototypes on Wednesday at the end of a high-altitude test flight. But the triumph was short-lived. Minutes after touch down the rocket was in flames. Flora Bradley-Watson reports.

 

The video feed provided by SpaceX on the company's YouTube channel cut off moments after the landing. But separate fan feeds streamed over the same social media platform showed an explosion suddenly erupting at the base of the rocket, hurling the SN10 into the air before it crashed to the ground and became engulfed in flames.

 

The complete Starship rocket, which will stand 394-feet (120 metres) tall when mated with its super-heavy first-stage booster, is SpaceX's next-generation fully reusable launch vehicle - the center of Musk's ambitions to make human space travel more affordable and routine.

 

A first orbital Starship flight is planned for year's end. Musk has said he intends to fly Japanese billionaire Yusaku Maezawa around the moon with the Starship in 2023.

 

(Reporting by Steve Gorman in Los Angeles and Joe Shaw in Washington; Editing by Kenneth Maxwell)

 

-- © Copyright Reuters 2021-03-04

 

- Whatever you're going through, the Samaritans are here for you

- Follow Thaivisa on LINE for breaking COVID-19 updates

"fly Japanese billionaire Yusaku Maezawa around the moon"
Settling on Mars and all that BS.

Why can't this guy do something useful with his money??

Think about the almost 8 billion population on earth e.g.?

 

 

Feeling glad Uncle Too didn't let Elon rescue the cave kids with one of his rockets.

Given it bounced it should state the rocket landed twice.

Then blew up.

59 minutes ago, KhunBENQ said:

"fly Japanese billionaire Yusaku Maezawa around the moon"
Settling on Mars and all that BS.

Why can't this guy do something useful with his money??

Think about the almost 8 billion population on earth e.g.?

 

 

So you think he should use his talents supplying condom vending machines rather than clean energy transport and future technologies.????

3 hours ago, KhunBENQ said:

"fly Japanese billionaire Yusaku Maezawa around the moon"
Settling on Mars and all that BS.

Why can't this guy do something useful with his money??

Think about the almost 8 billion population on earth e.g.?

 

 

Firstly it is HIS money to do with as he wishes.

 

Secondly is he personally responsible, in your opinion, for the nearly 8 billion people on earth?

 

IMHO the governments of ALL the countries on earth are responsible for their own populations.

3 hours ago, SunnyinBangrak said:

Feeling glad Uncle Too didn't let Elon rescue the cave kids with one of his rockets.

That wouldn't have provided a happy ending, Thai style, that's for sure.

3 hours ago, KhunBENQ said:

"fly Japanese billionaire Yusaku Maezawa around the moon"
Settling on Mars and all that BS.

Why can't this guy do something useful with his money??

Think about the almost 8 billion population on earth e.g.?

 

 

Yeah, right. He is doing something useful. Cull 4 billion of the population and we'll be back to somewhat sustainable levels for our mother Earth. Drop condoms all over the Asia and Africa and forbid all forms of religions... that might help some. But that, of course, will not sit well with the hyper-capitalists, that make big money with big population.

48 minutes ago, billd766 said:

Secondly is he personally responsible, in your opinion, for the nearly 8 billion people on earth?

As the excess people aren't American or Japanese (both countries have shrinking populations), I don't see how either of these guys should be expected to waste their money on sorting out other countries problems.

Yeiks!!!looks like it needs a bit more work ehhh?keep it up you will get it right eventually 

11 minutes ago, Tug said:

Yeiks!!!looks like it needs a bit more work ehhh? keep it up you will get it right eventually 

I hope that he has a good insurance policy, though next years premiums might be a tad higher.

6 hours ago, BritManToo said:

As the excess people aren't American or Japanese (both countries have shrinking populations), I don't see how either of these guys should be expected to waste their money on sorting out other countries problems.

And who exactly decides who the “excess people” are?
 

Or even what  is meant by “excess people”. 

7 hours ago, SpaceKadet said:

Yeah, right. He is doing something useful. Cull 4 billion of the population and we'll be back to somewhat sustainable levels for our mother Earth. Drop condoms all over the Asia and Africa and forbid all forms of religions... that might help some. But that, of course, will not sit well with the hyper-capitalists, that make big money with big population.

Why Asia and Africa?

 

How would you go about “culling” half the planets population?

 

What is your criteria for deciding who would be  “culled”?

At a time whole industries are becoming extinct because of excessive focus on shareholder returns and quarterly results (think about North American telecoms equipment industry, i.e. Nortel, Lucent, Bell Labs, etc...) someone like him, who is taking risks and investing for future business, is a blessing (whatever one may think about his personality).

8 hours ago, Bluespunk said:

Why Asia and Africa?

 

How would you go about “culling” half the planets population?

 

What is your criteria for deciding who would be  “culled”?

Because Asia and Africa are the biggest contributors to the population increase. My home country has a negative population growth. Who will feed them all when in ten years time the world population will grow to 10 billion?

 

You should watch "Soylent Green", and old movie by now, but so relevant. It's almost scary how correctly it predicted the future 48 years ago. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Soylent_Green

41 minutes ago, SpaceKadet said:

Because Asia and Africa are the biggest contributors to the population increase. My home country has a negative population growth. Who will feed them all when in ten years time the world population will grow to 10 billion?

 

You should watch "Soylent Green", and old movie by now, but so relevant. It's almost scary how correctly it predicted the future 48 years ago. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Soylent_Green

I have watched  soylent green, it’s fiction and predicted jack sh*t accurately. 
 

oh and I don’t believe your “reasoning”...and you didn’t answer all the questions in my post. 

9 minutes ago, Bluespunk said:

I have watched  soylent green, it’s fiction and predicted jack sh*t accurately. 
 

oh and I don’t believe your “reasoning”...and you didn’t answer all the questions in my post. 

I rest my case.....

18 minutes ago, SpaceKadet said:

I rest my case.....

That does not prove anything, least of all why you chose Africa and Asia for your “solution”...also you have still not answered all the questions to your first post. 
 

Oh and I believe it is always best to post a link to graphs posted...context and all that. 
 

Like this one 

 

https://www.statista.com/statistics/264683/top-fifty-countries-with-the-highest-population-density/

Kudos SpaceX on nailing latest attempt.
 

This is right out of a B Sci-Fi movie ("The Day the Earth Stood Still", etc),

As soon as they find some reason that $$ can be made outside this planet it'll be another wave of gold rushes,

 

Think about what prospectors endured during the Klondike rush in Alaska ????

To pull this thread back on topic a bit! The rocket was actually on fire before it touched down and the casing was beginning to peel away. It isn't just the landing that's the problem here.

13 minutes ago, Bluespunk said:

That does not prove anything, least of all why you chose Africa and Asia for your “solution”...also you have still not answered all the questions to your first post. 
 

Oh and I believe it is always best to post a link to graphs posted...context and all that. 
 

Like this one 

 

https://www.statista.com/statistics/264683/top-fifty-countries-with-the-highest-population-density/

There you go: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Population_growth

39 minutes ago, SpaceKadet said:

There you go: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Population_growth

Still avoiding the questions and again

 

https://www.statista.com/statistics/264683/top-fifty-countries-with-the-highest-population-density/

3 minutes ago, Bluespunk said:

Still avoiding the questions and again

 

https://www.statista.com/statistics/264683/top-fifty-countries-with-the-highest-population-density/

If you must have the last word, then so be it. I'm not willing to continue this off-topic discussion. If you want to have a discussion, start a topic and challenge me there.

 

However, I fail to see what population density has to do with global population growth.

2 minutes ago, SpaceKadet said:

If you must have the last word, then so be it. I'm not willing to continue this off-topic discussion. If you want to have a discussion, start a topic and challenge me there.

 

However, I fail to see what population density has to do with global population growth.

You started the off topic discussion and have consistently failed to explain your “reasoning”.

 

I’m not at all surprised you don’t understand why I posted the link. 

On 3/4/2021 at 3:56 PM, KhunBENQ said:

"fly Japanese billionaire Yusaku Maezawa around the moon"
Settling on Mars and all that BS.

Why can't this guy do something useful with his money??

Think about the almost 8 billion population on earth e.g.?

 

 

Depopulation is under way AKA covid and vaccination 

On 3/4/2021 at 3:56 PM, KhunBENQ said:

"fly Japanese billionaire Yusaku Maezawa around the moon"
Settling on Mars and all that BS.

Why can't this guy do something useful with his money??

Think about the almost 8 billion population on earth e.g.?

This is how the elite billionaires think:
The 8 billion people are nothing short of a disease infecting the planet.
The wealthiest are the saviors of the human species and the only way to save humanity is to spread out to the stars.  The best specimens of humanity need to be sent to space to colonize.  (Now how that selection process in different than the Nazi ideals of the 1930s and 40s escapes me but there you have it). 
In the meanwhile -  the Earth needs a cull while the Elon Musks and Jeff Bezos and figure ways to send humans offworld so that when these elites blow the Earth up - at least there are some humans left.

8 hours ago, Bluespunk said:

I have watched  soylent green, it’s fiction and predicted jack sh*t accurately. 
oh and I don’t believe your “reasoning”...and you didn’t answer all the questions in my post. 

I don't believe there is any limit to the amount of food that can be produced on this earth.

Of course, farmers aren't charitable organisations, and people will need money to buy the food.

The real limit to the world's population is the ability of people to earn money to buy their food.

24 minutes ago, BritManToo said:

I don't believe there is any limit to the amount of food that can be produced on this earth.

Of course, farmers aren't charitable organisations, and people will need money to buy the food.

The real limit to the world's population is the ability of people to earn money to buy their food.

And that is relevant to my post, how?