Thelasko shares a report from Engadget: After a successful launch, the Starship rose and successfully maneuvered its way to the landing area. However, it appeared that the spacecraft didn’t slow down enough for a proper landing, and it exploded in thrilling fashion. On the live feed, SpaceX said the test was successful and noted it would be moving on to testing the SN9 prototype next. Elon Musk tweeted “Successful ascent, switchover to header tanks & precise flap control to landing point!” In a follow-up, he explained the landing, saying that low fuel header tank pressure during the landing burn contributed to the high touchdown velocity and the massive explosion. The good news, is that the team got âoeall the data we neededâ and it appears everything is in order for future tests. You can view the full test flight here.
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Source:
https://science.slashdot.org/story/20/12/10/0120229/spacexs-successful-starship-high-altitude-flight-ends-in-a-fiery-explosion?utm_source=rss1.0mainlinkanon&utm_medium=feed