The Starship explosion was triggered remotely by SpaceX teams. This self-destruct feature, however, took longer than expected. It took 40 seconds before detonating Starship.
On April 20, SpaceX attempted to launch the first orbital flight of its Starship spacecraft mounted atop the Falcon Heavy rocket. The takeoff went well, but Starship ended up exploding in the sky a few minutes later. This explosion, which threw huge amounts of dangerous particles into the air, was triggered by SpaceX crews on the ground, but it should have been faster.
Starship’s self-destruction was decided when the ship did not separate from its launcher. He then went into a spin getting completely out of control. The self-destruct function was activated at this time, but it took place several tens of seconds late.
Starship waited 40 seconds before self-destructing
During an audio chat on Twitter Spaces, Elon Musk revealed that 40 seconds have passed between activating the self-destruct function and exploding Starship. Speaking of the launch itself, Elon Musk said: “ obviously not a complete success. But it’s still a success ».
All aerospace companies that launch rockets into space must prove their ability to destroy their rockets in an emergency during launch. They are thus destroyed far from inhabited areas to avoid any accident. In the case of the Starship launch, the craft exploded over the Gulf of Mexico. Even if it hadn’t self-destructed, it would have plunged straight into the ocean.
Nevertheless, what would have happened if the uncontrollable rocket had headed towards inhabited areas? The risk of an accident would surely have been higher. It is for this reason that the Federal Aviation Administration is currently investigating the SpaceX launch. Elon Musk remains optimistic and is already preparing for the next take-off. He announced that SpaceX plans to spend $2 billion on Starship to send it into orbit this year. According to the American billionaire, there are 80% chance that Starship will be in orbit by the end of 2023.
