April 20 will be remembered by SpaceX and its founder, Elon Musk, for being the day when Starship, the tallest and most powerful fully reusable rocket in history, managed to take flight. However, the attempt has had a bittersweet end: the ship has exploded a few minutes after its takeoff.

The reason for the explosion is related to a failure in the separation system of the two stages of the rocket that we have seen today take flight: a 70-meter Super Heavy booster rocket and Starship, the spacecraft, which has a height of 40 floors.

The ship has managed to overcome the first stage despite 6 of its 33 engines have been turned off after takeoff, but in the second stage the union jaws, responsible for causing a centrifugal force that separates the rocket from the ship, have not been opened.

Although for some the operation has been a failure, Musk has transmitted through his social networks his satisfaction with this second attempt: «Congratulations to the SpaceX team for this exciting test launch.» In addition, it has communicated its intention to carry out the operation again in a few months.

Last Monday, April 17, its first launch attempt was carried out, which concluded 40 seconds before takeoff due to a failure in the pressurization valve. That is, the rocket did not manage to leave the base. That is why today exhaustive previous checks have been made that have improved the result of the operation.

At the moment an exact date for the realization of an upcoming attempt is unknown. While the final launch to Mars is planned for 2026 (launch windows for missions to the red planet are every 26 months), the Starship testing period could cause a delay in the final mission.

Elon Musk himself was the first to appease expectations about the launch, predicting that it had a 50% chance of failure. However, hundreds of people have gathered around the SpaceX base in Boca Chica (Texas), to closely follow a mission that, in effect, marks a before and after in the space race led by the United States.

WHAT IS THE MISSION OF THE STARSHIP?

SpaceX’s goal is to put a Starship into orbit and then resupply with another Starship, so it can continue its journey to other planets. Thus, the purpose of this mission would be divided into the following points:

1. Take off from Earth and reach orbit in one stage, while the other spacecraft (the launch vehicle) returns to the launch pad for possible reuse.
2. Refuel in orbit.
3. Undertake long-distance journeys, such as the one from Earth orbit to Mars.
4. Landing on Mars.
5. Refueling on Mars (using carbon dioxide and water).
6. Take off from Mars and exit its orbit to return to Earth.

For its part, NASA is also working on its own rocket for Mars, the Space Launch System (SLS). The space agency’s goal is to get astronauts into lunar orbit by November 2024.

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Source: National Geographic