UNITED STATES: SpaceX’s long-awaited launch of its massive Starship vehicle proved costly, as the debris-strewn orbital launch pad in South Texas sustained considerable damage.
The successful launch saw the Starship achieve multiple milestones, but it experienced several issues minutes after liftoff, leading to SpaceX commanding its destruction above the Gulf of Mexico.
The goal was to get the upper stage to space and bring it down near Hawaii, but the launch’s impact left a large crater in the concrete under the launch mount, according to reports.
The Starship’s 33 first-stage Raptor engines caused heavy damage to the infrastructure, leading to doubts about when the next launch will occur.
SpaceX is known for its rapid iteration approach, where it learns from failures and quickly implements fixes.
After the launch, Elon Musk, the company’s founder and CEO, tweeted that the team learned a lot and was ready for the next test launch in a few months.
However, reputable sources suggest the repair timeline could take longer than expected.
Max Evans, a photographer for NASASpaceflight.com, tweeted that it’s tough to imagine the site being usable again in under a 12-month timeline.
Meanwhile, space entrepreneur Jonathan Goff tweeted that the company is probably at least seven to nine months away from its next Starship launch.
However, Musk seems optimistic about the repair timeline, tweeting that SpaceX could be ready to launch again in one to two months.
He noted that the company started building a massive water-cooled steel plate three months ago, which will go under the launch mount to prevent further damage.
The assessment that the concrete under the Starbase pad would survive a single liftoff was incorrect.
The billionaire entrepreneur added that SpaceX would install the plate before the next Starship test flight.
SpaceX will now need to repair the Starbase, install the steel plate under the launch mount, analyse the data from the debut flight, and incorporate the lessons learned into future Starships.
SpaceX has a history of meeting tall orders, but given the extent of the damage, it is still unknown whether the company can complete all the work required for the next launch in just a few months.
Also Read: SpaceX’s Starship Rocket Explodes during Test Flight
