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Oh dear! Looked pretty good for 2.50 though
Although I noticed 5 raptor engines not lit.
Well, their aim was to clear the pad, so a big win for the team, but a sad end at the separation stage.
That was AMAZING! Not bad for a first flight of the booster. QR has always been an issue 😉
It was astonishing that it held together so long, travelling almost perpendicular to it's longitudinal axis at over 2000kph.
It was astonishing that it held together so long, travelling almost perpendicular to it’s longitudinal axis at over 2000kph.
IANARS but I'm guessing the fact that it held together so long was a pretty big part of the problem 😀
Why did it need to flip to separate?
That is going to take some cleaning up.
A bit disappointed really 🤷♂️
Next test will be betterer
Although I noticed 5 raptor engines not lit.
Didn't they say those were being lit for the flip part or did I misunderstand what they were saying?
"Beginning to flip for stage separation"! T+02:49
No, it's beginning to flip 'cos it's out of control!
It's supposed to be separate, then flip. Anything else and you're just losing momentum in Starship which is the exact opposite of what you want.
You wouldn't need more engines to flip, most of the mass is gone.
It's like they didn't have a failure mode for the booster should the pyros not break the holding clamps, so the booster did it's next, automated, thing, to flip, regardless of the fact that Starship was still attached.
I thought it was going to pause again as main engine ignition was supposed to be t-10 I thought, not t=0! So when they did I was hedging kittens thinking 'she's gonna blow on the pad!'
I think it was meant to be main engine cut off at 2.50, seperate, starship raptors ignite and booster flip
I didn't see any evidence of the water deluge system that Nasa use for acoustic suppression. And, having seen the photos of what's left underneath the launch pad, there's definitely a need for a flame trench.
They had been installing a deluge system over the past couple of months but I'm not sure if it was used/ ready.
The BBC feed is reporting it is a wet dress rehearsal
…is that like when you have no girlfriend but are busily preparing – just in case!?
I was thinking it was more like when you have a new girlfriend but you empty the tanks before the main event, so the explosion doesn’t happen too early.
I nearly snorted a mouthful of Wotsits out of my nose when I read that! Not as messy as the rocket was, but uncomfortable!