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SpaceX Starship Flight 7 Recap · Elon Musk Podcast

• 0:01
  Hey everybody, welcome back to the Elon Musk Podcast.
• 0:05
  This is a show where we discuss the critical crossroads, the
• 0:08
  Shape, SpaceX, Tesla X, The Boring Company and Neurolink.
• 0:13
  I'm your host, Will Walden. At precisely 4:37 PM Central
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  time, the massive 403 foot tall Starship system Block 2 roared
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  to life. Now this is powered by 33 Raptor
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  engines. the Super Heavy booster lifted off the pad with what
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  SpaceX described as a nominal ascent for the first phase of
• 0:35
  the mission. Everything seemed to go
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  according to plan. The booster separated cleanly
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  from the upper stage and what is known as a hot stage separation
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  where the upper stages engines ignite just as the booster
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  finishes its roll. Now shortly after separation
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  though, the Super Heavy booster executed a boost back burn,
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  relighting 12 of its 13 planned engines to begin its return to
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  the launch site. Now in a moment.
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  This showcased the company's reusability strides.
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  The booster performed a controlled descent through its
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  actual plume that flew it to where it was in almost space in
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  a reignited all thirteen of its central engines for the landing
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  phase. It successfully slowed itself
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  down and precisely maneuvered onto the chopstick arms of
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  Spacex's launch and couch tower, the Mecca Zilla.
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  Now. This marked only the second time
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  that a Super Heavy booster had been caught using this method, a
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  huge achievement for the company's goal of reusing the
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  Super Heavy boosters now. Meanwhile, the upper stage of
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  Starship carried on with its portion of the mission.
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  The spacecraft, which is powered by 6 Raptor engines, began its
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  ascent burn towards space. The PLAN sequence seemed on
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  track until approximately 8 1/2 minutes into the flight, when
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  telemetry from the vehicle abruptly ceased.
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  Initial data suggests that a fire broke out in the AF section
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  of the spacecraft, ultimately leading to SpaceX describing it
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  as a Rapid Unscheduled Disassembly, or a RED, which is
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  a technical term for basically an explosion.
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  Now, observers as far as the Turks and Caicos Islands
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  reported seeing the upper stage break apart in a dramatic
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  display, sort of like fireworks over the Atlantic Ocean.
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  Now, the cause of the explosion is believed to be a propellant
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  lake. SpaceX founder and CEO Elon Musk
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  provided further insights just hours after the flight, stating
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  via X preliminary indication is that we had an oxygen slash fuel
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  leak in the cavity above the ship engine firewall.
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  It was large enough to build pressure in excess of the vent
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  capacity. He also indicated plans for
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  improvements, including adding fire suppression systems to the
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  affected area and expanding vent capacity to prevent similar
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  incidents in the future. Musk said nothing so far suggest
• 2:58
  pushing next launch past next month.
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  Now, despite the loss of the upper stage, the Starship system
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  operated within the boundaries of its designated launch
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  corridor, an area specifically designed to protect public
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  safety on the ground, in the air and at sea.
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  And according to SpaceX, any surviving debris would have
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  fallen into a predetermined hazard area.
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  The US Federal Aviation Administration, or the FAA,
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  which Overseas Space Flight Safety briefly rerouted air
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  traffic in the vicinity but confirm that normal operations
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  resume shortly afterwards. Now the set back has not slowed
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  SpaceX though company has applied for permission to launch
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  Starship up to 25 times this year, and it's determined to get
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  this design operational and reliable.
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  SpaceX is already preparing the hardware for the 8th flight
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  test, with both the booster and the upper stage undergoing pre
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  launch testing. This rapid iteration process is
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  a cornerstone of Spacex's approach to developing what
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  envisions is a fully reusable space transport system capable
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  of supporting missions to Mars and beyond.
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  Now, the Starship program, which aims to make life multi
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  planetary, continues to be the most powerful rocket ever
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  constructed. Each flight test provides
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  critical data that informs future improvements.
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  SpaceX has already begun reviewing the data from Flight 7
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  to determine the precise cause of the anomaly.
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  This review will be conducted in the collaboration with the FAA
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  and the findings will be used to implement corrective actions for
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  subsequent missions. Now the scale of the explosion
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  though significant, it's not unusual for a development stage
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  spacecraft of this complexity. Starship, which is powered by
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  liquid oxygen and liquid methane, represents A next
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  generation design focused on full reusability.
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  The integration of the booster successful return and catch
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  mechanism with the upper stages mission to space is a
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  challenging engineering fee. The SpaceX continues to revine
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  with each test flight. Now Spacex's progress and
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  reusability has been steady, particularly with the success of
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  the Super Heavy booster. Catching a rocket stage with the
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  launch towers arms reduces the need for ocean landings or
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  barges, which is a method used for the Falcon 9 rocket and also
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  Blue Origins New Glen rocket. This approach aligns with
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  Spacex's overreaching goal of reducing the cost of space
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  travel and making high frequency launches more economically
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  viable. Now, the decision to conduct a
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  hot stage separation is another example of the program's
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  innovative approach. This method increases efficiency
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  by reducing the time required for stage separation also
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  introduces new technological challenges.
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  SpaceX engineers will likely focus on how the hostage
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  separation is Subsequent ignition of the upper stage
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  engines may have contributed to this anomaly.
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  The aftermath of the Starship explosion has drawn attention
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  not only for the fiery upper stage, but also for what it
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  means for the broader mission of SpaceX.
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  Musk's remarks suggest that SpaceX remains undeterred.
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  They're going to keep going forward, and it's important to
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  learn from these failures. The rapid pace of testing allows
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  the company to iterate quickly, addressing issues and
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  implementing fixes in a matter of weeks rather than months.
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  Now, SpaceX analyzes the telemetry and video data from
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  Flight 7. The lessons learned will
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  undoubtedly shape the design and procedures for future launches.
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  Now must Comments about fire suppression and event capacity
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  suggest that changes will be made to prevent similar
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  incidents from occurring in the future.
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  These adjustments, while technical, are crucial for
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  advancing the reliability and safety of Starship.
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  If he's involvement in the investigation is important, the
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  regulatory oversight committee and they do it for all of
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  spaceflight coming from the United States.
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  And while SpaceX has led the charge in reusable rockets, it
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  operates with any framework designed to prioritize public
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  safety. The agency's role is certifying
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  launch operations ensures that lessons from incidents like this
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  one are shared across the industry, contributing to the
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  collective advancement of space technology.
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  Now, the high stakes game of Super Heavy rockets is real.
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  The rocket is central to several of the company's key missions,
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  including deploying the next generation of Starling
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  satellites and conducting missions for NASA.
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  Starship is slated to play a pivotal role in the art of this
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  program, which aims to return humans to the moon later this
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  decade. Reminder of the challenges with
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  all rocketry. Every test flight is a balance
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  between risk and reward, with a potential for groundbreaking
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  achievements often accompanied by groundbreaking setbacks like
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  maybe a giant rocket blowing up over the ocean.
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  But for SpaceX, the path to a fully reusable space
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  transportation system is paved with lessons learned from both
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  success and failure from earlier flights.
• 7:57
  Hey, thank you so much for listening today.
• 7:59
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• 8:25
  and each other and I'll see you tomorrow.