SpaceX Starship - Integrated Flight Test #2 - Starbase TX - Including Post Launch Dissection

[Electroman]

https://twitter.com/x/status/1725637151176659003

Official stream. The commentary from John Insprucker and another two engineers is just fantastic. They have some amazing drone views. Amazing shots from under the rocket looking up on the engines.

LOVE the official stream. Video quality is just as good as YouTube.

 

[ecarfan]

SpaceX stated their stream would start 35 minutes before T-0 but I’m not finding it.

 

[ecarfan]

https://twitter.com/x/status/1725637151176659003

Official stream. The commentary from John Insprucker is fantastic. They have some amazing drone views.

Love the official stream. Video quality is just as good as YouTube.

Thanks, got it.

 

[Grendal]

John Insprucker!!

 

[GOVA]

Livestream has started on X:

https://twitter.com/i/broadcasts/1dRKZEWQvrXxB

Second attempt at the first significant step towards humanity becomaing a spacefaring species!

That's really something else. WOW
1st stage cut off good. Ship still good

 

[Grendal]

Booster success past hot staging! A RUD for some reason just past boostback burn. It may have been an intentional destruction if it was even slightly off course.

Loss of Second stage after a long burn.

 

[Cattledog]

Great launch, booster rapidly disassembled after separation, Starship going strong! Before images...

 

[EVCollies]

Where is Starship?

 

[Cattledog]

Looks like it may have been lost 10 minutes or so into flight.

 

[2daMoon]

Double RUD, and a great way to start the day! Milestones achieved. Can't wait till the next one.

Now, where's that coffee?

Edit: OH! ...and the launch pad appears to have survived the Raptor onslaught.

 

[Electroman]

I thought the cameras did catch the Starship blast right after engines shut down. Did it do a RUD before it shut down or after. ?

 

[ecarfan]

I thought the cameras did catch the Starship blast right after engines shut down. Did it do a RUD before it shut down or after. ?

We don’t know. I’m concerned that even SpaceX doesn’t know since at that point they had no telemetry signal from the vehicle.

 

[favo]

I thought the cameras did catch the Starship blast right after engines shut down. Did it do a RUD before it shut down or after. ?

I thought it was a RUD when it happened, but there were cheers shortly after, so not sure.

 

[mongo]

NSF reporting SpaceX says ATS kicked in after Starship engine shutdown.

 

[lascavarian]

Double RUD, and a great way to start the day! Milestones achieved. Can't wait till the next one.

Now, where's that coffee?

Looks like the ”hot staging” worked…. Check

 

[Grendal]

John Insprucker believed ATS was initiated. There was some visual events prior to loss of the vehicle. It hit 24,124 km per hour and 148 km in altitude.

A huge success. Overall about a 75% full success.

 

[Electroman]

NSF reporting SpaceX says ATS kicked in after Starship engine shutdown.

So this means the entire Starship burn went successfully and just started the coast phase before the RUD ?

Is 24,124 km/hr the orbital speed for this mission, which it seemed to have reached ?

 

[ecarfan]

So multiple successes with today’s flight; liftoff with all engines running, possibly no pad damage (TBD), all engines running up to MECO, all Starship engines ignited and ran for some time, hot staging appears to have worked, booster flipped.

Failures: booster RUD via FTS, Starship RUD (via FTS?, how to know without telemetry?)

So many questions; did the hot staging heat shield adequately protect the booster, did the planned number of engines on the booster keep running after MECO (I couldn’t tell, need to review), why the two RUDs.

It seems SpaceX needs more down range stations to maintain telemetry. And I was expecting to see camera views from the booster and ship.

 

[ecarfan]

So this means the entire Starship burn went successfully and just started the coast phase before the RUD ?

Is 24,124 km/hr the orbital speed for this mission, which it seemed to have reached ?

LEO orbital velocity is almost 28,000kmh. I don’t know what velocity SpaceX wanted to achieve for this mission but I assume it was close to that.

And I don’t know if the ship engines had shut down as planned and the vehicle was in the coast phase and then the FTS activated, or if the FTS activated while the engines were still running. I sure hope SpaceX knows.

 

[betstarship]

I'm glad I woke up early for that! 3rd or 4th time's the charm?