Starship's Historic Flight: In Review

The largest rocket ever made has lifted off in a historic debut. To some members of the greater public, it seemed a waste, as Starship’s first flight ended with an explosion. However, to those who eagerly anticipate the great strides of the Artemis age of Space exploration, the flight’s first effort was like baby steps, the first few efforts towards learning to leap and run. 

“It’s not optimal, but not a complete failure,” SpaceX, as quoted by The Economist. ​

​OUR TAKE 

Significance of Starship 
Starship was created with the express purpose of carrying cargo and people into Space. The anticipated outcome of Starship, eventually, is to be able to reuse rockets and send people to and in point-to-point Space travel, similar to how airlines operate on Earth.  

Why This Launch Mattered
The first official launch of Starship has been hotly anticipated. Starship is a highly experimental Spacecraft. It is reportedly the “most powerful” rocket ever built, NBC wrote. 

The Earth Benefits of Starship
Missions to Space contribute to improving life on Earth in many ways. 
For example, innovators at the MIT New Space Age Conference (read our coverage of that event here) explained that there are some types of medicine that can only be manufactured in the zero-gravity conditions unique to Space. 

NASA explains that Space’s benefits can be classified by “direct” or “indirect” contributions to life on Earth. The agency lists some of Space exploration’s benefits: 

• Space exploration challenge approaches generate scientific discovery 
• Technology discoveries are made 
• International relationships improve with Space cooperation 

The Setbacks 
The Starship craft launched, but with some issues. Early in the launch, there was a hold on the start of the launch, but the reason was not expressly stated. Some of the engines were lost in the takeoff. Then, the rocket exploded mid-air. This the Company refers to as a “rapid unscheduled disassembling,” of the craft, KIRO 7 reported. 

Good vs. Bad of Rocket Performance 
Industry professionals state that one can typically tell how well a rocket is doing in the air by the exhaust it puts off. With Starship, the exhaust revealed that there were some problems, as engines failed or didn’t start. See more on that with the analysis by Ars Technica. 

What’s Next? 
New attempts will need to be made to understand how to prevent the launch pad and the rocket from being destroyed during the launch. The launch pad was damaged during the launch, with pieces of concrete flying across the launch pad, reportedly hitting someone’s car, and making other damages.