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SpaceX says propellant venting caused loss of second Starship

spacenews.com SpaceX says propellant venting caused loss of second Starship

Elon Musk says a propellant dump caused the loss of Starship on a November launch, giving him confidence that it can reach orbit on its next launch.

SpaceX says propellant venting caused loss of second Starship

“Flight 2 actually almost made it to orbit,” he said. “If it had a payload, it would have made it to orbit because the reason that it actually didn’t quite make it to orbit was we vented the liquid oxygen, and the liquid oxygen ultimately led to a fire and an explosion.”

IFT-3 flight plan includes:

  • An in-space engine burn from the header tank (to test deorbit capabilities)
  • Propellant transfer from header tank to the main propellant tank (stepping stone to propellant transfer between ships)
  • Test of the "Pez dispenser" payload door (to be used on later flights for Starlink satellite deployment)

They are also working on qualifying Falcon 9 boosters for up to 40 flights. It looks like 20 flights is not the limit!

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