#Vector 7 nasa meaning full#

“I’m glad to report that the pad damage is actually quite small and looks like it can be repaired quickly.”

Which is that we would get clear of the pad with minimal damage to the pad,” noted Musk post-flight. And, maybe slightly exceeding my expectations, but roughly what I expected, which was or, or hoped for, I should say. “The outcome was roughly in the sort of what I expected.

#Vector 7 nasa meaning full#

The vehicle did clear the Tower, but the full power of Booster 7’s liftoff thrust caused a “rock tornado” that spewed debris far and wide, impacting numerous structures, including the tank farm. “If we get far enough away from the launch site before something goes wrong, I’d consider that to be a success,” Musk said ahead of the launch during a Twitter Spaces call to his subscriber base, also agreeing that passing MaxQ would be a win. Via a year of pad tests, rollbacks, modifications, and cryo cycles, Booster 7 still lacked numerous improvements already implemented on the next vehicle to fly, Booster 9.īefore the flight, SpaceX Chief Designer Elon Musk set expectations accordingly, ranging from not destroying the launch site via a pad explosion to gaining as much data as possible.

However, the launch of Booster 7 and Ship 24 achieved numerous objectives to add confidence in the system and provide a stepping stone to the key milestone of Starship reaching orbital velocity.īooster 7 and Ship 24’s spectacular launch from Starbase was achieved with a vehicle already out of date. Several requirements need to be satisfied before the flight of Booster 9 - and a to-be-decided Ship partner - ranging from repairing and improving the launch site to modification to the flight termination system (FTS). Following the maiden launch of the world’s most powerful rocket, SpaceX hopes to conduct a mirror test flight of the Starship rocket this summer.