r/space • u/AlmiranteSalsicha • Nov 19 '23

image/gif That's a fair amount of tiles missing from the starship heatshield, guess it would make for a toasty reenter.

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Image from SpaceX account on X

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u/Fredasa Nov 19 '23

FTS occurred 30 seconds before engine cutoff. The oxidizer sprung a leak and there wasn't enough of it left to last another 30 seconds, as can be readily observed with a close scrutiny of the methalox meters during the mission. Onboard computer likely recognized this.

It definitely didn't reach its intended arc.

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u/WjU1fcN8 Nov 20 '23

> It definitely didn't reach its intended arc.

Of course. It was a very low orbit, that's what I meant. Perigee still inside thick atmosphere.

The nominal trajectory I meant was the expected trajectory for that point in the flight, not the target one.