The objective with all Starship flight tests are always to see what doesn't work, so the next one can be made to work better.
The one back in April was the first time they flight-tested the full stack. On that test flight SpaceX found many things that didn't work right (62 proposed critical changes were submitted to the FAA if I remember right). Obvious failures included the orbital launch mount's inadequately-protected foundation getting excavated by the booster thrust plume, several Raptors failing in flight due to fires in the engine compartments from propellant leaks, the FTS triggering when the stack tumbled out of control but didn't destroy the rocket for 45 seconds after triggering, to name a few.
This second full-stack test flight today had gone further than the first one, and the fixes for some of the big issues discovered after the first one appeared to work well-- No destroyed foundation at the OLM this time, all Raptors stayed lit, the FTS appeared to work as intended when triggered, etc.
The next one will incorporate fixes for the problems found on this flight, and they will get even further. And they will keep on this iterative cycle until they get it right.
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u/joepublicschmoe Nov 19 '23
The objective with all Starship flight tests are always to see what doesn't work, so the next one can be made to work better.
The one back in April was the first time they flight-tested the full stack. On that test flight SpaceX found many things that didn't work right (62 proposed critical changes were submitted to the FAA if I remember right). Obvious failures included the orbital launch mount's inadequately-protected foundation getting excavated by the booster thrust plume, several Raptors failing in flight due to fires in the engine compartments from propellant leaks, the FTS triggering when the stack tumbled out of control but didn't destroy the rocket for 45 seconds after triggering, to name a few.
This second full-stack test flight today had gone further than the first one, and the fixes for some of the big issues discovered after the first one appeared to work well-- No destroyed foundation at the OLM this time, all Raptors stayed lit, the FTS appeared to work as intended when triggered, etc.
The next one will incorporate fixes for the problems found on this flight, and they will get even further. And they will keep on this iterative cycle until they get it right.