a new and painful explosion

The great hope for the next generation of Starship flights has gotten off to a bad start. SpaceX has suffered a new setback at Starbase, and only its rapid ability to iterate can save the furniture. An ephemeral life. The Super Heavy Booster 18, the first booster of the new version 3 of Starship, burst during the early hours of November 21 while SpaceX engineers validated their structural improvements. The prototype, which was due to launch during flight 12 in early 2026, lasted just 14 days after its assembly was completed. 48 hours after being moved to the Masseys test bench at Starbase, a pressure test of the gas system caused the liquid oxygen tank to burst. Redesigned systems. SpaceX’s objective was to test the rocket propellant systemswhich were redesigned for version 3. Fortunately, Booster 18 did not contain methane or liquid oxygen, which would have caused a large explosion like the one that Masseys destroyed in a fuel load from Starship 36 last June. With the area cleared and the Raptor engines not yet installed, Booster 18 has only caused one victim: its own structure, which has been rendered useless. The usual suspect. Although an official investigation is underway, the analysis of NASASpaceFlight points to the same component that caused the Starship 36 explosion: the rupture of one of the COPV tanks that store high-pressure nitrogen or oxygen gas in the rocket. These tanks are responsible for operating the valves and engine starting systems. The explosion of one of them could have caused a chain reaction in the adjacent COPVs strong enough to burst the wall of the rocket. And now what. The loss of Booster 18 is painful not only for being the first version 3 booster, but for being the prototype assigned to test the new Pad 2 launch pad at Starbase. Without a physical rocket to place at the base, SpaceX will not yet be able to fully test ground systems, such as the new platform’s tanks. As if it wasn’t already aggressive enough, SpaceX’s schedule is becoming even more tense. And the company maintains flight 12 scheduled during the first quarter of 2026. SpaceX has very ambitious goals in the short term, including the in-orbit fuel transfer tests that it will need to take astronauts to the Moon with Artemis III. a mission in which he now competes with Blue Origin and Lockheed Martin. Image | SpaceX In Xataka | A genius named Tom Mueller designed the engines for the Falcon 9. And now that genius wants to beat SpaceX on its own turf

The first European attempt to launch a commercial rocket at orbit has ended up explosion to northern Norway

First attempt. The inaugural launch of the Spectrum rocket, a test mission without payload called “Going Full Spectrum”took off at 12:30 CET on March 30 from the Andøya Space Puerto, in Norway. Originally scheduled for March 24, the flight was delayed several times due to bad weather conditions. After lighting their nine engines, the Spectrum He cleared the launch platform and rose without problems for 18 seconds. Then he began to lose control or overwhelming his orientation to the point of turning. In the second 30, all the engines went out and the rocket began to fall. The realization changed camera, but an explosion was heard shortly after. “A success!” The impact of the rocket near the platform and the fireball of the explosion They were captured by the Norwegian press. Despite the ruling, Isar Aerospace declared the launch A success. The CEO of the company, Daniel MetzlerHe added that the flight “has fulfilled all our expectations” with “an impeccable takeoff, 30 seconds of flight and we could even validate our flight termination system.” Although the rocket did not define, he turned off his engines not to deviate before falling. The launch platform is apparently intact. Flight launchers 2 and 3 are already in production. ISAR has compiled numerous data in this first test. Spectrum. What Isar Aerospace’s rocket has not been able to validate is the first orbital launching title of a European private company, since it has not reached orbit. Now the achievement is still open to other rockets such as RFA One of the German Rocket Factory Augsburg or Miura 5 of the Spanish Pld Space. Spectrum is a two -stage rocket and 28 meters high designed to transport up to 1000 kg to the low terrestrial orbit. The first stage has nine Aquila engines and the second one has one, optimized for space vacuum. All of their own design, with carbon fiber tanks without coating and 3D printed engines, fed with oxygen and liquid propane. Isar Aerospace. It was founded in 2018 in Germany with a Spacex -inspired approach: integrated production vertically and very automated, with the idea of ​​producing many prototypes, testing them and improving their design through multiple iterations. It is very well financed with a total investment of 400 million euros, which has taken the opportunity to build a new headquarters 40,000 square meters near Munich. According to Isar, it will have the capacity to produce 40 Spectrum rockets per year. Norway. Isar Aerospace has an exclusive platform in the Andøya Space Puerto in Norway, chosen for its ideal location to reach polar orbits and heliosíncronas and because the rocket takes off on the open ocean. It also has the meteorological problem that has been seen the days before the launch. Images | Isar Aerospace In Xataka | Europe’s access depends on the United States. ESA has presented a strategic plan to become independent

It is the second consecutive explosion and the greatest setback in the recent history of the rocket

Starship’s eighth flight was going to be a repetition of the previous launch, which Spacex could not complete because The ship ended up disintegrating On the Atlantic Ocean. However, exactly the same thing has happened again. The ship has exploded again. And in the same flight phase: eight minutes after takeoff, when Starship 34 was about to turn off to start its suborbital trajectory to the Indian Ocean. Like the Starship 33, the ship lost control when several of its engines (first three, and then a room) went out or exploited. Then he began to turn on his axis until he exploded, either because he ended up disintegrating, as his predecessor, or because the flight termination system was activated, self -controlled the rocket for security. The reentry was seen from Miami. The videos of the remains of the ship by disintegrating in the atmosphere soon appeared. From Bahamasfrom the Turkish Islands and Caicos and from Dominican Republic, last timebut also from Cabo Cañaveral and Miamisince the explosion occurred when the rocket was traveling at 20,000 km/h, while the flight from flight 7 exploded more than 21,000 km/Hy, therefore, further. As It happened in Januaryimmediately They began to deviate Also the airplanes. The areas where remains of the rocket can fall are delimited and, when an incident occurs, Spacex warns the authoritiesthat close the airspace, asking the pilots to deviate to other airports if necessary. Twice the same stone? According to the Spacex researchStarship 33 had failed by a “stronger harmonic resonance phenomenon” than expected. Vibrations that caused an oxygen leak in the lower part of the rocket, which in turn triggered a fire, which in turn exploded the engines. Spacex did a test of On a one -minute land To try to better understand the problem, and tried to mitigate the effects of these vibrations improving the ventilation of the lower part of the ship, to avoid an accumulation of gases. Although it is not confirmed that the Starship 34 has failed for the same reasons, in An image of the direct A small fire has been seen, and in another The explosion of an engine. Something happens with the Starship Block 2. Put to find guilty, the greatest setback in the recent history of the Starship program coincides with a change of version. Starship 33 and Starship 34 are First block models 2, which represent the second generation of the ship-cohete. Two meters higher than the previous generation, has methane deposits and liquid oxygen of greater capacity, improvements in the thermal shield, renewed front alerons and changes in propulsion subsystems. Whatever it is, something has failed in this iteration, and Spacex now has more data to solve it. Images | Spacex, In Xataka | Spacex had been abruptly canceling for almost two years a starship launch. Until now

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