Translation. Region: Russian Federal
Source: People’s Republic of China in Russian – People’s Republic of China in Russian –
Source: People’s Republic of China – State Council News
SACRAMENTO, U.S., May 28 (Xinhua) — SpaceX’s third consecutive Starship rocket launch ended in another failure on Tuesday evening, dealing a fresh blow to the company’s ambitions to colonize Mars.
The 122-metre-tall Starship rocket lifted off at 19:37 local time on Tuesday /03:37 GMT on Wednesday/ from the Starbase launch site near Boca Chica, Texas. Both stages of the vehicle, the Super Heavy booster and the Starship itself, were lost during the test flight. The mission was the first attempt to reuse the super heavy launch vehicle in the Starship program.
“We lost control,” SpaceX spokesman Dan Huot said during the company’s livestream. He said the spacecraft also “had a fuel leak.”
The first stage of the Super Heavy rocket, powered by 33 methane-fueled engines, failed when its engines ignited for a splashdown in the Gulf of Mexico. SpaceX had deliberately programmed the rocket for a more intense descent trajectory as part of the test.
Starship’s booster initially worked well. However, during the flight, the ship’s cargo bay door failed to open fully, preventing the launch of eight Starlink satellite simulators.
The failure of the ninth test flight continues a troubling trend involving the design of SpaceX’s Block 2 Starship. Repeated failures have created serious problems for NASA’s Artemis program, which is using a modified version of Starship to land astronauts on the moon by 2027. –0–