Starship/Superheavy test launch scrubbed
Though the countdown got down to T-40 seconds, the eighth orbital test launch of SpaceX’s Starship/Superheavy was scrubbed today due to a number of issues that popped up relating to both spacecraft.
At the moment we do not know exactly what those issues were, and will likely never get detailed explanations. Nor do we know when the next launch attempt will occur, though SpaceX has additional scheduled opportunities over the next week.
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Though the countdown got down to T-40 seconds, the eighth orbital test launch of SpaceX’s Starship/Superheavy was scrubbed today due to a number of issues that popped up relating to both spacecraft.
At the moment we do not know exactly what those issues were, and will likely never get detailed explanations. Nor do we know when the next launch attempt will occur, though SpaceX has additional scheduled opportunities over the next week.
Readers!
My annual February birthday fund-raising drive for Behind the Black is now over. Thank you to everyone who donated or subscribed. While not a record-setter, the donations were more than sufficient and slightly above average.
As I have said many times before, I can’t express what it means to me to get such support, especially as no one is required to pay anything to read my work. Thank you all again!
For those readers who like my work here at Behind the Black and haven't contributed so far, please consider donating or subscribing. My analysis of space, politics, and culture, taken from the perspective of an historian, is almost always on the money and ahead of the game. For example, in 2020 I correctly predicted that the COVID panic was unnecessary, that the virus was apparently simply a variation of the flu, that masks were not simply pointless but if worn incorrectly were a health threat, that the lockdowns were a disaster and did nothing to stop the spread of COVID. Every one of those 2020 conclusions has turned out right.
Your help allows me to do this kind of intelligent analysis. I take no advertising or sponsors, so my reporting isn't influenced by donations by established space or drug companies. Instead, I rely entirely on donations and subscriptions from my readers, which gives me the freedom to write what I think, unencumbered by outside influences.
You can support me either by giving a one-time contribution or a regular subscription. There are four ways of doing so:
1. Zelle: This is the only internet method that charges no fees. All you have to do is use the Zelle link at your internet bank and give my name and email address (zimmerman at nasw dot org). What you donate is what I get.
2. Patreon: Go to my website there and pick one of five monthly subscription amounts, or by making a one-time donation.
3. A Paypal Donation or subscription:
4. Donate by check, payable to Robert Zimmerman and mailed to
Behind The Black
c/o Robert Zimmerman
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Cortaro, AZ 85652
You can also support me by buying one of my books, as noted in the boxes interspersed throughout the webpage or shown in the menu above.
An odd chain of events T-40…then the countdown to -35…but then up to T-41.
What, did one of Elon’s kids play with the clock?
They probably cleared one problem, restarted the countdown and then another popped up and automatically halted the count again. Or things were happening in control faster than could be reported, but essentially the same thing, cleared one problem, count was restarted and then another popped up and they decided to scrub.
Jeff Wright asked: “An odd chain of events T-40…then the countdown to -35…but then up to T-41. What, did one of Elon’s kids play with the clock?”
On the SpaceX feed (you may have watched another), the hosts were explaining that T -0:00:40 was a hold point that the controllers could use, if necessary. That also meant that if they had to hold after T -40 seconds, then they would have to recycle back to that time. They originally held at T -40 due to a booster problem that they had had for about half an hour, but by the time they cleared that problem during the hold, there were other Starship (upper stage) problems cropping up.
They also explained that once the deluge started, about T -10 seconds, any hold after that would result in a scrub for the day, because they cannot stop the water, and they only have enough in the tanks for one shot.
Today I heard that the unsolved problem, responsible for the scrub, was in the pressure for one of the spin-up lines for the Starship. If the engine turbine does not spin-up properly, then the engine does not start properly.