SpaceX was finally able to launch the Starship atop the Super Heavy booster this morning. Making for the first time that Super Heavy left the ground and the first time Starship was targeted to enter orbit. The launch was a success when it came to leaving the ground but ultimately didn’t achieve its overall mission.
The company originally tried launching the booster this Monday but had to pull the plug with 40 seconds on the clock when they discovered a frozen valve in the booster’s pressurization system. Just a few days later (this morning), it was ready to try again resulting in one a huge success when it comes to data collection and a new step toward putting Starship into operation someday.
Super Heavy was able to leave the ground, lifting Starship toward orbit, and making its way toward the phase where Starship is supposed to separate from the booster and begin its orbital journey before crashing down into the water near Hawaii. However, the actual separation event didn’t happen, causing the rocket to spin out of control. Forcing SpaceX to eventually press the big red button that triggers its self-destruct. Making for quite the fireworks for those watching both there and online.
Although it would sound like a bad thing, the company was expecting things to not go 100% to plan. After all, this was the first time the booster left the ground. Until now, it has only gone through variations of its static fire tests. So the company knows the booster is capable of lifting Starship as needed and was able to collect a lot of data in regard to this. As well as (hopefully) what prevented the separation stage from occurring.
All of this data contributes to future launch attempts, testing, and development. It is incredibly valuable to see it happen in real-time and not just a model on a computer screen using predictions. Now the company will be able to work on what went wrong and start preparing for its next orbital launch attempt.
It took a number of attempts to get the Falcon boosters off the ground and to eventually land themselves for re-use. It is no surprise that Super Heavy and Starship will require the same. For now, you can watch the video of the broadcast below.
