Starship Explodes Soon After Launch

What do we know about the Starship?

The Starship has been built by SpaceX. It is the world’s tallest and most powerful rocket. NASA has selected this spacecraft for the Artemis III mission (the mission to send astronauts to the moon).

Spacecraft like Starship are made of many different parts. One such part is the booster, which is supposed to push (or boost :p) the rocket away from Earth. Once the booster has done its job, it falls off from the main part of the spacecraft or capsule.

Starship was tested last week. Unfortunately, its booster rocket did not separate from the spacecraft causing it to explode (thankfully, no one was inside!). Despite the explosion, SpaceX considered the test to be a success.

Why has SpaceX considered this test to be successful?

After launch, the Starship spacecraft was expected to drop its booster rocket in the Gulf of Mexico. Then the spacecraft would around the Earth once before falling somewhere in Hawaii. 

Despite the explosion, SpaceX learnt a great deal from the test flight. In fact, even the liftoff from the launchpad was a big success for a huge rocket like Starship.

Elon Musk, the owner of SpaceX, said that the data collected from the test flight will help scientists and engineers improve the Starship and perform necessary fixes before its next test. 

What are SpaceX’s plans with the Starship spacecraft?

After the Starship spacecraft is successfully tested, it will be used to transport astronauts and fully equipped laboratories to and from the Moon and Mars. The spacecraft will also bring back rocks from Mars to be studied.

It will also be used to launch satellites and telescopes. The spacecraft could also be used for space tourism in the future, allowing people to explore space (children’s day trip to space, anyone?).

What did we learn from this article?

We learnt that failure is a part of one’s life. Failure can teach us how and which problems to solve so we do better in the future. 

In this case, SpaceX is not sad that it’s rocket exploded but it is celebrating the amount of knowledge the company has gained from its failure. 

Let’s hope SpaceX learns from its mistakes and the Starship is able to successfully take us to the Moon, Mars and beyond!