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February 2, 2021 09:00 pm
Original Link: http://rss.slashdot.org/~r/Slashdot/slashdot/~3/XFBJLhQUPzc/spacexs-starship-launches-and-again-crashes-in-test-of-prototype
SpaceX's Starship Launches and Again Crashes in Test of Prototype
On Tuesday, a test flight of SpaceX's Starship, a huge next-generation spacecraft that Elon Musk, the founder and chief executive of the private rocket company, dreams of one day sending to Mars, came to an explosive end. From a report: That brief flight, to an altitude of about 6 miles and then back to a landing pad, appeared to again demonstrate how the mammoth rocket would tip over on its side as it descended in a controlled belly flop back toward a landing. But when the prototype fired its engines to right itself back to a vertical orientation, it appeared that one engine did not properly ignite, and Starship hit the ground at an angle, disintegrating in a fireball, leaving a cloud of smoke rising over the test site, which is in Boca Chica, Tex., near Brownsville. The end was similar to the last test flight in December which also ended in an explosion at landing, although the particular cause of the rocket failing to slow down enough may have been different. This time, however, SpaceX at least had the permission of government regulators. Last week, SpaceX and the Federal Aviation Administration, which regulates rocket launches, seemed to be in a strange regulatory standoff. SpaceX had filled the propellant tanks of this prototype of Starship -- its ninth one -- and looked ready to launch. But then the rocket stayed on the ground when no approval from the F.A.A. arrived. Mr. Musk expressed frustration on Twitter, describing the part of the F.A.A. that oversees SpaceX as "fundamentally broken." Mr. Musk wrote, "Their rules are meant for a handful of expendable launches per year from a few government facilities. Under those rules, humanity will never get to Mars." Late on Monday, the F.A.A. gave permission for Tuesday's launch, but then added that the December launch had occurred without the agency's approval. SpaceX had requested a waiver to conduct that flight even though it posed a greater danger to the public than allowed by regulations. The F.A.A. denied the request. SpaceX defied the ruling and launched anyway.Read more of this story at Slashdot.
Original Link: http://rss.slashdot.org/~r/Slashdot/slashdot/~3/XFBJLhQUPzc/spacexs-starship-launches-and-again-crashes-in-test-of-prototype
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