Just about 2 1/2 hrs ago, SpaceX's Starship lifted off its launch mount and into what was hoped to be a near orbital trajectory. Things went pretty well at first, with all 33 engines working nominally throughout the separation. As planned, all but three engines stopped firing, and the second stage lit up. It looked like a good separation, as the second stage powered away, the booster flipped as planned.
About that time, things seemed to go wrong. The engines lit up for a boost back burn, but went out quickly. It appeared that another attempt was made to light up the engines, but shortly afterward, the booster exploded. Evidently, it was an intentional self-destruct.
As for the second stage, it went nearly the full distance for its planned burn, but shortly before it was to end its burn, it also appeared to blow up. It was not clear that this had happened, but was the author's impression. It is also possible that a malfunction necessiated another self-destruct, but word has not been given as to what exactly happened.
All in all, the initial impression is of a nearly fully successful test. There did appear to be some failures, but the extent of these has yet to be reported as of this writing.
It is becoming clear that several more launches will be necessary before the system can be said to be operational. It is obviously getting closer to that goal. This launch went much better than the first.
Here's some video with different camera angles:
More video showing the stage separation in slow motion just prior to booster self-destruct
It appears that the engines weren't lighting up properaly. The graphics show more engines lighting up than the video can actually show. The outer engines cannot relight, but a lot of the engines on the inner rings didn't light up, in particular those on the right side. ( see graphic on lower left corner )
I resynced the telemetry bar with the video of MECO & Hot Stage. Now it's more obvious the order of engine shut down, relight and failure on the boost back.
— Scott Manley (@DJSnM) November 18, 2023
I suspect that booster failure is something like a fluid hammer effect given the stop and restart puts lots of stress on… pic.twitter.com/cAD67qK5qC
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