Content deleted Content added
Countercheck (talk | contribs) increased diagram for readability |
m Fixing broken anchor: Reminder of an inactive anchor: Booster 3 |
||
Line 301:
The first Super Heavy booster named BN1 (booster number 1) finished construction on 8 March 2021, but it had not received engines.<ref>{{cite news|last=Bergin|first=Chris|date=29 March 2021|title=Starship SN11 lands in bits as SpaceX refine forward plan|publisher=NASASpaceFlight.com|url=https://www.nasaspaceflight.com/2021/03/starship-sn11-returns-super-heavy-bn1-rollout-follow/|url-status=live|access-date=18 September 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210814004802/https://www.nasaspaceflight.com/2021/03/starship-sn11-returns-super-heavy-bn1-rollout-follow/|archive-date=14 August 2021}}</ref> On 30 March 2021, SN11 exploded in midair without a confirmed explanation because of the dense fog at the launch site.<ref>{{cite news|last=Griffin|first=Andrew|date=1 April 2021|title=Elon Musk confirms SpaceX Starship exploded in 'crater'|newspaper=The Independent|url=https://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/gadgets-and-tech/space/spacex-launch-elon-musk-starship-sn11-twitter-b1824437.html|url-status=dead|access-date=18 September 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210401083208/https://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/gadgets-and-tech/space/spacex-launch-elon-musk-starship-sn11-twitter-b1824437.html|archive-date=1 April 2021}}</ref> A possible explanation is that an engine might have burned the test article's [[avionics]] and could have caused a [[hard start]] on the engine's turbopump.<ref>{{cite news|last=Wall|first=Mike|date=5 April 2021|title=SpaceX identifies cause of Starship SN11 prototype's crash|publisher=Space.com|url=https://www.space.com/spacex-starship-sn11-crash-cause|url-status=live|access-date=18 September 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210507050858/https://www.space.com/spacex-starship-sn11-crash-cause|archive-date=7 May 2021}}</ref> After the launch, SpaceX skipped SN12, SN13, SN14, and BN2, and incorporated obsolete test articles' improvements to SN15 instead.<ref name=":8">{{cite news|last=Wall|first=Mike|date=13 April 2021|title=SpaceX's SN15 Starship prototype rolls out to launch pad|publisher=Space.com|url=https://www.space.com/spacex-starship-sn15-launch-pad|url-status=live|access-date=18 September 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210424192858/https://www.space.com/spacex-starship-sn15-launch-pad|archive-date=24 April 2021}}</ref> On 5 May 2021, the test article flew the same flight path as previous test articles and [[Soft landing (aeronautics)|soft landed]] successfully.<ref name=":18">{{cite news|last=Amos|first=Jonathan|date=5 May 2021|title=SpaceX Starship prototype makes clean landing|publisher=BBC News|url=https://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-57004604|url-status=live|access-date=18 September 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210506070737/https://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-57004604|archive-date=6 May 2021}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|last=Gorman|first=Steve|date=6 May 2021|title=Elon Musk's SpaceX Starship completes successful launch and landing after several fiery failures|work=Reuters|url=https://www.reuters.com/business/aerospace-defense/spacex-starship-rocket-prototype-achieves-first-safe-landing-2021-05-06/|url-status=live|access-date=29 September 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210506040354/https://www.reuters.com/business/aerospace-defense/spacex-starship-rocket-prototype-achieves-first-safe-landing-2021-05-06/|archive-date=6 May 2021}}</ref> On 20 July 2021, BN3 fired its engines for the only time.<ref name=":15">{{cite news|last=Tariq|first=Malik|date=20 July 2021|title=SpaceX test fires massive Super Heavy booster for Starship for 1st time (video)|publisher=Space.com|url=https://www.space.com/spacex-starship-super-heavy-rocket-booster-engine-test|url-status=live|access-date=11 September 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210803210509/https://www.space.com/spacex-starship-super-heavy-rocket-booster-engine-test|archive-date=3 August 2021}}</ref> As of October 2021, SN15, SN16, and BN3 had been retired and displayed.<ref name=":18" /><ref>{{cite news|last=Bergin|first=Chris|date=3 July 2021|title=Booster 3 opens Super Heavy test campaign as orbital vehicles prepare to stack|publisher=NASASpaceFlight.com|url=https://www.nasaspaceflight.com/2021/07/booster-3-super-heavy-test-campaign/|url-status=live|access-date=18 September 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210711105222/https://www.nasaspaceflight.com/2021/07/booster-3-super-heavy-test-campaign/|archive-date=11 July 2021}}</ref>
After the flight of SN15 SpaceX ended the suborbital flight campaign and tested prototypes on the ground for almost two years. [[SpaceX Super Heavy#BN3/B3|Booster 3]]{{Broken anchor|date=2024-10-10|bot=User:Cewbot/log/20201008/configuration|target_link=SpaceX Super Heavy#BN3/B3|reason= The anchor (BN3/B3) [[Special:Diff/1232312593|has been deleted]].}} performed a first static fire test in July 2021, later boosters performed static fire tests with an increasing number of engines. Stacking a ship on top of a booster was first tested in August 2021 with Ship 20 and Booster 4. In parallel, the orbital launch mount was upgraded to support a launch.
Booster 7 and Ship 24 launched for a first integrated flight test on 20 April 2023, planned to fly 3/4 of an orbit and reenter over the ocean near Hawaii. The rocket cleared the launch pad and flew for three minutes but several booster engines failed during the flight and the rocket eventually lost control before stage separation, reaching a maximum altitude of {{Cvt|39|km|mi}}. The [[flight termination system]] was triggered and a subsequent explosion destroyed the vehicle.<ref>{{Cite web |last1=Malik |first1=Tariq |last2=Wall |first2=Mike |date=2023-04-20 |title=SpaceX's 1st Starship launches on epic test flight, explodes in 'rapid unscheduled disassembly' |url=https://www.space.com/spacex-starship-first-space-launch |access-date=2023-11-15 |website=Space.com |language=en}}</ref> The launch broke the concrete pad under the launch mount, resulting in SpaceX replacing it with a water-cooled steel plate for subsequent launches.<ref>{{cite web |title=Why did SpaceX Starship's debut launch cause so much damage to the pad?|website=[[Space.com]] |date=April 24, 2023 |url=https://www.space.com/spacex-starship-damage-starbase-launch-pad|access-date=2023-11-15}}</ref>
| |||