Third Starship prototype collapses during tank pressure test
During the final part of a tank pressure test the third SpaceX Starship prototype apparently collapsed, its outer welded hull failing.
Video below the fold. The prototype is on the right, and it appears it fall inward along its hull welds.
The SN3 (Serial Number 3) vehicle incorporated lessons learned from previous vehicles and test articles, and took advantage of improved manufacturing techniques and expanded facilities at SpaceX’s South Texas launch facility.
The next round of testing began this week with cryogenic proof testing. These tests saw the vehicle filled with liquid nitrogen at cryogenic temperatures and flight pressures. Proof testing began in Thursday and continued through to Friday morning when SN3 failed during what appeared to be the end of the test.
With Elon Musk noting “we will see what data review says in the morning, but this may have been a test configuration mistake,” on Twitter and the first-look observations, the fault may have been related to detanking, rather than another failure under pressure.
I’m no engineer, so I wonder how detanking could cause such a failure.
» Read more
During the final part of a tank pressure test the third SpaceX Starship prototype apparently collapsed, its outer welded hull failing.
Video below the fold. The prototype is on the right, and it appears it fall inward along its hull welds.
The SN3 (Serial Number 3) vehicle incorporated lessons learned from previous vehicles and test articles, and took advantage of improved manufacturing techniques and expanded facilities at SpaceX’s South Texas launch facility.
The next round of testing began this week with cryogenic proof testing. These tests saw the vehicle filled with liquid nitrogen at cryogenic temperatures and flight pressures. Proof testing began in Thursday and continued through to Friday morning when SN3 failed during what appeared to be the end of the test.
With Elon Musk noting “we will see what data review says in the morning, but this may have been a test configuration mistake,” on Twitter and the first-look observations, the fault may have been related to detanking, rather than another failure under pressure.
I’m no engineer, so I wonder how detanking could cause such a failure.
» Read more