Spacex Starship

[kidicarus13]

Only 32 of the 33 engines lit? How does that happen?! Keep in mind, my rocket knowledge does not go much beyond Estes.

[O2HeN2]

Only 32 of the 33 engines lit? How does that happen?! Keep in mind, my rocket knowledge does not go much beyond Estes.

To keep it simple, those engines, unlike an Estes engine, have all sorts of instrumentation to monitor the status of many, many parts of the engine and its many, many steps from turning fuel and oxidizer into thrust.

If you watch the engine graphic you'll see that all 33 ignited initially. Then that one engine detected something wrong and was shut down. Even before the rocket had cleared the tower.

Better to shut it down than to have it ka-boom and take out all the engines around it.

Hope that helps!

O2