SpaceX had a mostly successful launch and the launchpad is undamaged so a third launch can go within about 28 days.
1. Launch pad appears to be fully intact, indicating low likelihood of delay for next IFT due to pad damage, ground safety or environmental concerns at Boca
2. All 33 R2 engines were fully lit until stage separation, indicating validation of R2 reliability. Major milestone towards commercial launch use
3. !! Successful hot staging stage separation on the first try !! Pure awesomeness.
4. FTS triggered for booster a few moments after stage separation likely due to booster coming down off-course after performing back flip
5. FTS triggered for ship pretty late into the process (5+ minutes after separation) when ships seemed to be at a good altitude and all 6 engines firing ok. Likely reason is also the vehicle being off course
Overall extremely successful flight test and huge progress vs IFT1 in April. IFT3 should happen fairly soon with high probability of reaching orbit & successful booster controlled landing in ocean.
Incredibly successful Starship IFT2 this morning. Huge congrats to the @SpaceX team! A few observations:
1. Launch pad appears to be fully intact, indicating low likelihood of delay for next IFT due to pad damage, ground safety or environmental concerns at Boca
2. All 33 R2… pic.twitter.com/hcZwIkZf1h— Steve (@StevenZWang) November 18, 2023
Here's an interesting look at the engine diagram showing the new and faster Raptor ignition sequence of Super Heavy!
Pretty much how we imagined it to look, however I found the lagging last 5 outer engines quite peculiar.@CSI_Starbase @MarcusHouse @FelixSchlang pic.twitter.com/0BmOg5bHN3
— Emil Romano (@emilromano7) November 18, 2023
Brian Wang is a Futurist Thought Leader and a popular Science blogger with 1 million readers per month. His blog Nextbigfuture.com is ranked #1 Science News Blog. It covers many disruptive technology and trends including Space, Robotics, Artificial Intelligence, Medicine, Anti-aging Biotechnology, and Nanotechnology.
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