Going to the moon in 2024

[Justin]

Starship test flight was...er...mostly successful today.

[Gman]

Well, they did hit the pad in a reoriented vertical state. Pretty impressive.

[ChickNorris]

My guess is low header tank pressure resulted in cavitation in the turbo pump which lead to insufficient thrust.

Or simply, a bitty bubble botched it.

Curious what the data is going to say when they release it.

[JohnnyDrama]

Pretty cool the way it was able to reorient itself. That's a really pretty ship. Too bad it didn't survive the test. Thanks for putting the footage up.

[JohnnyDrama]

My guess is low header tank pressure resulted in cavitation in the turbo pump which lead to insufficient thrust.

Or simply, a bitty bubble botched it.

Curious what the data is going to say when they release it.

Not the Q39 Space Modulator?

[Gman]

SN 9 coming soon!

[ChickNorris]

Not the Q39 Space Modulator?

They discontinued that after the sn4 & replaced it with a turbo encabulator. Its 6% more efficient & 90% the weight. The resulting C* modified the theoretical ISP

[GilpinGuy]

This was cool to watch. I'm certainly no rocket scientist, but did it look like one of the engines cut out on the way up? And maybe that's why it came down at an angle?

When it exploded I was like "oh shit, that sucks". Then I see the message "Awesome test today" or something like that. I guess that's why it's a test - to learn things and improve.

[.455_Hunter]

Space X's whole mantra on test failures is completely 180 degrees from the old line companies.

[ChickNorris]

This was cool to watch. I'm certainly no rocket scientist, but did it look like one of the engines cut out on the way up? And maybe that's why it came down at an angle?

When it exploded I was like "oh shit, that sucks". Then I see the message "Awesome test today" or something like that. I guess that's why it's a test - to learn things and improve.

It purposely came down on its side as a method of aero braking basicly turning itself into an inefficient parachute saving fuel. It seemed odd because that was the first time someone tried to do it on purpose.


Edit: I was mistaken-ish, in the 90's the DC-Xa tried to demonstrate the same maneuver but at a higher altitude & they called it the 'death swoop'