SpaceX booster test explosion, fire slows companys progress toward …

SpaceX was testing its Super Heavy booster on the launch pad at Boca Chica in preparation for its first-ever Starship orbital launch from South Texas.

Then came the explosion.

Yeah, actually not good. Team is assessing damage, SpaceX CEO Elon Musk said in a tweet a few hours later.

About 4:30 p.m. Monday, NASASpaceFlight.com recorded footage of a burst of fire at the bottom of the booster rocket, which has been undergoing a series of static tests. The fireball turned into flames and plumes of smoke that lingered above nearby Boca Chica Beach outside of Brownsville.

Hours later, Musk tweeted that hed arrived at Starbase.

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Base of the vehicle seems ok by flashlight. I was just out there about an hour ago, he said in a tweet at 12:27 a.m. Tuesday. We shut down the pad for the night for safety. Will know more in the morning.

The explosion comes about a month after the Federal Aviation Administration concluded an environmental review of SpaceXs plans for orbital launches from the 47-acre facility, issuing a finding of no significant impact. The FAA said it would require SpaceX to take more than 75 actions to mitigate environmental impacts before issuing the operator license needed to launch from the site.

In response, Musk said the company could handle the mitigation steps and be ready to launch as early as this month.

Mondays explosion may slow his plans.

SpaceX didnt immediately reply to a request for comment Tuesday.

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In another tweet Monday, Musk said a propellant known as cryogenic fuel is an added challenge to his plans. It evaporates to create fuel-air explosion risk in a partially oxygen atmosphere like Earth, he said.

He said Mondays problems arose from testing the 33 Raptor 2 engines under the booster.

This particular issue, however, was specific to the engine spin start test (Raptor has a complex start sequence), he said. Going forward, we wont do a spin start test with all 33 engines at once.

In late 2020 and early 2021, SpaceX lost four prototypes of the Starship itself in a series of high-altitude test launches when the return landing attempts ended in explosions. The prototype finally made a safe touchdown in May 2021.

eric.killelea@express-news.net

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SpaceX booster test explosion, fire slows companys progress toward ...