:strip_exif(true):strip_icc(true):no_upscale(true):quality(65)/d1vhqlrjc8h82r.cloudfront.net/12-10-2020/t_d9daf851da8a4c65b19a2db9afa33930_name_709999.PNG)
The internet collectively picked its jaw up off the floor Wednesday as SpaceX launched a prototype of its Starship spaceship from Texas, performing an aerial wonder and then come back down for a fiery landing.
After the first attempt Tuesday was scrubbed at the last second, SpaceX tried again Wednesday to test its latest Starship prototype known as SN8 from the company’s Boca, Chica, Texas launch site.
The wait was worth it. More than 500,000 people tuned in on SpaceX’s live stream.
Around 5:40 p.m. ET the shiny towering Starship ascended from the pad, slowly using its three Raptor engines. The goal was to reach around 50,000 feet, the highest yet for any Starship test flight.
The next goal was to perform an aerial maneuver flipping the spaceship in position to come back down for landing. Those first two steps went well. Watching Starship fly on three, then two then one Raptor engine as it made the flip in the aerial was something straight out of science fiction.
“Successful ascent, switchover to header tanks & precise flap control to landing point!” CEO Elon Musk said in a tweet.
About 6 minutes after liftoff, Starship came back down to land but exploded upon impact.
Still two out of three isn’t bad for a company trying to build an interplanetary spaceship from scratch. SN8 was left smoldering on the ground. Another prototype that performed the first “hop” as a Starship stood standing near SN8′s ashes.
Next, SpaceX will do it all again with another prototype, SN9.
Roads in the small beachside town of Boca Chica were closed ahead of such a test for residents’ safety and no one was near the fiery landing.
The private space company hopes Starship can take people to distant destinations, such as the moon and Mars.
Ahead of the test, Musk said there is “probably 1/3 chance of completing all mission objectives.”
After the test, Musk celebrated, tweeting “Mars, here we come!!”
This year, SpaceX completed two low-altitude flight tests with two other Starship prototypes at its site in Boca Chica, Texas.
The company put out a disclaimer ahead of the next flight, writing “success is not measured by completion of specific objectives but rather how much we can learn as a whole, which will inform and improve the probability of success in the future as SpaceX rapidly advances development of Starship.”
Want more space? Subscribe to Space Curious, a podcast from WKMG and Graham Media that answers your intergalactic questions.
Follow wherever you listen to your favorite podcasts including Spotify, iTunes, Stitcher and Google Play. New episodes drop every other Wednesday.
Subscribe to a weekly newsletter to receive the latest in space news directly to your inbox here.
"come" - Google News
December 10, 2020 at 04:47AM
https://ift.tt/33Zet7d
‘Mars, here we come:’ SpaceX wows with Starship’s most daring (and explosive) test flight yet - WKMG News 6 & ClickOrlando
"come" - Google News
https://ift.tt/2S8UtrZ
Shoes Man Tutorial
Pos News Update
Meme Update
Korean Entertainment News
Japan News Update
Bagikan Berita Ini
0 Response to "‘Mars, here we come:’ SpaceX wows with Starship’s most daring (and explosive) test flight yet - WKMG News 6 & ClickOrlando"
Post a Comment