SpaceX's Test of Huge Rocket Causes Major Damage to Launch Pad
2023-05-01
LRC
TXT
大字
小字
滚动
全页
1Last week's flight test of SpaceX's Starship spacecraft caused major damage to the launch structure in the state of Texas.
2The day after the test, SpaceX chief Elon Musk said on Twitter the damage to the launch area was greater than expected.
3Musk explained that the company had started work three months before on a large water-cooled steel plate to be placed underneath the concrete launch pad.
4The structure is meant to protect the concrete pad, the rocket's support structure, from being damaged from the heat and force of the rocket's engines.
5But Musk added that the steel plate would not have been ready before the launch date on April 20.
6He said SpaceX "wrongly thought" the concrete launch pad would survive the liftoff because it had survived an earlier test.
7He suggested that the steel plate could be ready for a new launch attempt "in 1 to 2 months."
8But it is currently not clear when the next Starship test will be approved.
9The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has said it will have to carry out an investigation of the launch site damage before it can approve a new test.
10Pictures published on social media have shown large pieces of concrete being pushed deeply into the ground.
11Video of the launch showed pieces of debris being thrown up to 420 meters away.
12The launch also reportedly created several large craters around the area.
13The test involved SpaceX's Super Heavy rocket, which carries the Starship capsule on top.
14The capsule is designed to carry astronauts and supplies to the moon and possibly to Mars.
15The Super Heavy rocket is powered by 33 engines and is by far more powerful than any rockets built by the American space agency NASA.
16The two-part rocket ship successfully launched from the SpaceX launch center, called Starbase, in Boca Chica, Texas.
17But it exploded minutes later and crashed into the sea.
18SpaceX had hoped that, after separating, the spacecraft would continue flying and attempt to circle the world before crashing into the Pacific Ocean near Hawaii.
19But even with the explosion, the company has described the flight test as a success because the huge rocket was able to get off the ground.
20Other launch sites in the United States use long diverters in the ground to guide fire away from the rockets.
21The diverters are designed to limit damage from launches.
22The launch area that SpaceX uses at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida has diverters.
23Without diverters, debris thrown into the air during liftoff could strike the rocket itself and nearby areas, engineers say.
24Phil Metzger is a planetary scientist at the University of Central Florida who has studied the effects of rocket launches and landings.
25He said on Twitter, "Launch & landing pads are touchy. Any little thing that goes wrong can cause a zipper effect that creates a giant problem."
26Metzger said such difficulties can result because the energy used to push the rocket into space needs to be absorbed on the ground.
27Obervers say the incident demonstrates a certain rocket development culture at SpaceX.
28That culture favors more tests and failures of new vehicles to provide data to improve future designs.
29Tom Marotta advises other space companies on launch rules.
30He told Reuters news agency the FAA oversees launch safety and carries out technical investigations into rocket failures.
31He said the agency will need to approve changes to Starship's launch area before any new launch attempts.
32Marotta added that "the bigger challenge" for SpaceX will be getting the FAA to examine its steel plate in order to approve another launch test in the coming months.
33The FAA has confirmed that no injuries resulted from the launch test, the French news agency AFP reported.
34But it has also said that no new tests will be approved if there is a threat to public safety.
35Olivier de Weck is a professor of astronautics and engineering at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT).
36He told AFP he agrees with SpaceX that the test was "more a success than a failure."
37He said the reason the company has made such great progress in recent years "is because they are willing to take risks and break things."
38De Weck added, "But they learn from it, and improve very, very quickly."
39I'm Bryan Lynn.
1Last week's flight test of SpaceX's Starship spacecraft caused major damage to the launch structure in the state of Texas. 2The day after the test, SpaceX chief Elon Musk said on Twitter the damage to the launch area was greater than expected. 3Musk explained that the company had started work three months before on a large water-cooled steel plate to be placed underneath the concrete launch pad. The structure is meant to protect the concrete pad, the rocket's support structure, from being damaged from the heat and force of the rocket's engines. 4But Musk added that the steel plate would not have been ready before the launch date on April 20. He said SpaceX "wrongly thought" the concrete launch pad would survive the liftoff because it had survived an earlier test. 5He suggested that the steel plate could be ready for a new launch attempt "in 1 to 2 months." But it is currently not clear when the next Starship test will be approved. The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has said it will have to carry out an investigation of the launch site damage before it can approve a new test. 6Pictures published on social media have shown large pieces of concrete being pushed deeply into the ground. Video of the launch showed pieces of debris being thrown up to 420 meters away. The launch also reportedly created several large craters around the area. 7The test involved SpaceX's Super Heavy rocket, which carries the Starship capsule on top. The capsule is designed to carry astronauts and supplies to the moon and possibly to Mars. The Super Heavy rocket is powered by 33 engines and is by far more powerful than any rockets built by the American space agency NASA. 8The two-part rocket ship successfully launched from the SpaceX launch center, called Starbase, in Boca Chica, Texas. But it exploded minutes later and crashed into the sea. 9SpaceX had hoped that, after separating, the spacecraft would continue flying and attempt to circle the world before crashing into the Pacific Ocean near Hawaii. But even with the explosion, the company has described the flight test as a success because the huge rocket was able to get off the ground. 10Other launch sites in the United States use long diverters in the ground to guide fire away from the rockets. The diverters are designed to limit damage from launches. The launch area that SpaceX uses at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida has diverters. 11Without diverters, debris thrown into the air during liftoff could strike the rocket itself and nearby areas, engineers say. 12Phil Metzger is a planetary scientist at the University of Central Florida who has studied the effects of rocket launches and landings. He said on Twitter, "Launch & landing pads are touchy. Any little thing that goes wrong can cause a zipper effect that creates a giant problem." 13Metzger said such difficulties can result because the energy used to push the rocket into space needs to be absorbed on the ground. 14Obervers say the incident demonstrates a certain rocket development culture at SpaceX. That culture favors more tests and failures of new vehicles to provide data to improve future designs. 15Tom Marotta advises other space companies on launch rules. He told Reuters news agency the FAA oversees launch safety and carries out technical investigations into rocket failures. He said the agency will need to approve changes to Starship's launch area before any new launch attempts. 16Marotta added that "the bigger challenge" for SpaceX will be getting the FAA to examine its steel plate in order to approve another launch test in the coming months. 17The FAA has confirmed that no injuries resulted from the launch test, the French news agency AFP reported. But it has also said that no new tests will be approved if there is a threat to public safety. 18Olivier de Weck is a professor of astronautics and engineering at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). He told AFP he agrees with SpaceX that the test was "more a success than a failure." 19He said the reason the company has made such great progress in recent years "is because they are willing to take risks and break things." De Weck added, "But they learn from it, and improve very, very quickly." 20I'm Bryan Lynn. 21Bryan Lynn wrote this story for VOA Learning English, based on reports from Agence France-Presse, Reuters and SpaceX. 22_______________________________________________________ 23Words in This Story 24plate - n. a flat piece of metal or glass 25debris - n. broken pieces of something 26capsule - n. the part of a spacecraft that people ride in 27divert - v. send something somewhere different than expected 28zipper - n. a connector made up of metal or plastic teeth or strips that permit the opening and closing of something 29absorb - v. to take in a substance 30challenge - n. something difficult that tests someone's ability or determination 31What do you think of this story? We want to hear from you. We have a new comment system. Here is how it works: 32Each time you return to comment on the Learning English site, you can use your account and see your comments and replies to them. Our comment policy is here.