SpaceX loses debut V3 Super Heavy in ground test mishap
SpaceX has responded to Blue Origin's announcement of a heftier version of its New Glenn rocket in the only way it knows how – by accidentally destroying a Starship booster.
Last night, Elon Musk's rocket company announced that the first of the Super Heavy V3 boosters, Booster 18, was beginning prelaunch testing, starting with a check of the booster's redesigned propellant systems and its structural strength.
The testing did not go well, and the booster appeared to rupture while on its Massey test stand in Boca Chica, Texas. Videos on social media captured the event and subsequent imagery revealed severe damage to the rocket's lower section.
Though not a catastrophic failure that scattered rocket parts around the test stand, it is also very unlikely to be something Musk's rocketeers can just buff out.
While SpaceX's mantra is "move fast and break stuff," the loss of Booster 18 is significant. The updated Super Heavy booster was to be used for the first launch of the company's version 3 Starship, which needs to demonstrate improvements in reliability and performance from the previous generation. Version 3, for example, needs to prove itself reliable enough to reach orbit and conduct vehicle-to-vehicle refueling. SpaceX also needs the launcher for the next generation of Starlink satellites, and NASA is beginning to get sweaty palms about its choice of Starship as a lunar lander.
The failure has also come as Blue Origin, a rival commercial rocket outfit, unveiled plans to upgrade its New Glenn rocket and build a heftier version, the 9x4, capable of lofting 70 metric tons to low-Earth orbit. Blue Origin has so far managed only two launches of its New Glenn rocket and one successful landing, but a healthy dose of competition will focus engineers' minds.
SpaceX and Musk have yet to comment on the cause of the failure. It appears a good deal less explosive than the June incident in which an earlier iteration of the rocket detonated before a test firing of its Raptor engines.
While testing failures are to be expected, the pressure is on SpaceX to get Starship flying regularly and reliably. The loss will result in an inevitable delay as the company's engineers work to understand what failed and what needs to be corrected before the next booster is rolled to the test stand.
After basking in the glow of two successful test flights, this latest incident highlights the challenges SpaceX faces in making the Starship dream a reality.
Alternatively, one could regard this as progress. Now Starship can fail even earlier in the test cycle, negating the need for all that pesky fueling. ®
