Space X's Boca Chica Starship Mk-1 blew it's top during a pressure test today. The stream is still live at the link. I wish I would've been on the bay today to see this happen close up. Pretty spectacular. Bring on Mk-2
Ugh...oh well, there’s always going to be accidents with innovation and pioneering new tech...just hope no one got hurt.
I understand it was a scheduled max pressure test on the cryo system and a failure like this was not unexpected.
Exactly like Chenobyl... except not in Russia....and not a nuclear reactor meltdown...and no death...but yeah...aside from that...Chernobyl.
There are so so many ways for these systems to fail. But yes, Musk said this was just a stepping stone system on to the next. Hopefully they can learn a lot about the exact nature of the rupture. These tanks can develop weak cracks in all sorts of unbelievable ways. Finger grease with a cleaning agent. Cleaning agent with a fuel with the metal of the tank wall, and on and on. Lots of behind the scenes stuff like this in the early space program.
This is what she looked like with the nose cone on. Mk-1 was assembled for looks for a press release. They removed the nose cone to continue testing.