SpaceX's seventh flight test of its massive Starship launch system brought both thrilling advancements and unexpected challenges. Notably, the Super Heavy booster successfully returned to the launch site and was caught by the launch tower's "chopstick" arms, while the upper stage, known as Ship 33, experienced a critical failure during its ascent.

Article: https://joshuniverse.com/spacex-starship-flight-booster-success-ship-loss/

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[–] AA5B@lemmy.world 6 points 1 day ago (1 children)

But I do appreciate the attempt. They ran a test, not expecting a complete success, and they found something they can improve. Maybe they overdo it but it is so refreshing to have the development process so open and especially inspirational that a failed test doesn’t risk failing the first program.

Look at Blue Origin. Also some amazing technology and I hope for their success as well. But they’ve been working on it so many years with nothing visible that it’s hard to think of them as in contention. Even worse that their test failed. I hope it’s just a failed test that they learn from but since they follow a more traditional development model, it’s much more worrying. Only a handful of test failures are likely to doom the program.

Or look at SLS. It’s already dead but just doesn’t know it yet. A failed test is a failed program, even if it wasn’t so expensive and unsustainable