Sunday, December 8, 2024

The Aftermath of the SpaceX Starship Explosion

Elon Musk has some explaining to do now that more information in regards to the explosion that took out the Starship just moments after its maiden launch. And it looks like people have something to say about it. 

Was there any success to be found in the failed launch? Or was it just that – a failure.

The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) was quick to announce that it was temporarily grounding the entire Starship fleet. They said in a statement, “an anomaly occurred during the ascent and prior to stage separation resulting in a loss of the vehicle. A return to flight of the Starship / Super Heavy vehicle is based on the FAA determining that any system, process, or procedure related to the mishap does not affect public safety.”

Getting out of that grounding will require a deep look into why exactly 8 of the Starships 33 engines failed on lift off and how it came to be that the ship did not actually separate from its first-stage rocket booster. 

However, SpaceX and others in the aerospace industry are still lauding this failed mission as a success. 

While Musk and SpaceX have experienced fiery endings to their experiments before, they’ve never dealt with one quite like this. The damage caused by the explosion sent a massive wave of particles into the air for miles, as well as the extensive damage done to the launchpad – with hunks of concrete torn from the pad and a crater formed beneath it, which may have been caused by the crafts nonexistent flame diverter. It has also been noted that the rocket tossed so much debris into the air that the aforementioned particles created a dust cloud that covered nearly the entirety of the town of Port Isabel. Ash spread far beyond the established debris field and some residents are claiming that their homes suffered broken windows from the launch.

The launch also negatively impacted a nearby wildlife sanctuary that had been fighting Musk on the sight of the launch due to the negative effect it would have on endangered species protected therein. Employees are currently assessing the damage to the refuge.

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