Latest news with #testflight
WIRED
25-06-2025
- Science
- WIRED
A European Startup's Spacecraft Made It to Orbit. Now It's Lost at Sea
Eric Berger, Ars Technica Jun 25, 2025 4:25 PM The Exploration Company lost contact with its 'Mission Possible' vehicle a few minutes before touchdown in the ocean. Photographer: The Exploration Company A European company that seeks to develop orbital spacecraft for cargo, and eventually humans, took a step forward this week with a test flight that saw its "Mission Possible" vehicle power up and fly successfully in orbit before making a controlled reentry into Earth's atmosphere. However, after encountering an "issue," the Exploration Company lost contact with its spacecraft a few minutes before touchdown in the ocean. In an update on LinkedIn Tuesday morning, the company characterized the test flight as a partial success—and a partial failure. "The capsule was launched successfully, powered the payloads nominally in-orbit, stabilized itself after separation with the launcher, re-entered and re-established communication after black out," the company said in a statement. "We are still investigating the root causes and will share more information soon. We apologize to all our clients who entrusted us with their payloads." Maybe It Was the Parachutes Reestablishing communications with the spacecraft after the blackout period suggests that the vehicle got through the most thermally challenging part of reentry into Earth's atmosphere and perhaps validated the spacecraft's handling and ability to withstand maximum heating. Following this, according to the company's timeline for Mission Possible, the capsule's parachutes were due to deploy at a velocity between Mach 0.8 and Mach 0.6. The parachutes were selected for their "proven flight heritage," the company said, and were procured from US-based Airborne Systems, which provides parachutes used by SpaceX's Dragon, Boeing's Starliner, and other spacecraft. Given when the spacecraft was lost, it seems most likely that there was a problem with the deployment of the drogue or main parachutes. Mission Possible was a 2.5-meter diameter demonstration vehicle that was among the larger payloads launched Monday afternoon on SpaceX's Transporter 14 mission from Vandenberg Space Force Base in California. The mission sought to test four primary areas of spaceflight: structural performance in orbital flight, surviving reentry, autonomous navigation, and recovery in real-world conditions. It only clearly failed in this final task, recovering the vehicle within three days to return on-board payloads to customers. Meeting an Aggressive Timeline It is refreshing to have such clear and concise communication from a space company, especially the acknowledgment that a flight was a partial failure, within hours of launch. And it is not a surprise that there were technical challenges on a vehicle that was put together fairly rapidly and at a low cost. In an interview with Ars last November, the founder of The Exploration Company, Hélène Huby, said Mission Possible was developed at a cost of about $20 million in 2.5 years, in addition to $10 million for the rideshare launch on the Falcon 9 rocket. At the time, she said Mission Possible was on track to launch this summer, and the company met this timeline. Given the potential issues with the parachute system or other problems near touchdown, it is possible that The Exploration Company may fly another subscale demonstration mission before moving into development of its full-size Nyx cargo spacecraft. "This partial success reflects both ambition and the inherent risks of innovation," the company said Tuesday morning. "Leveraging the technical milestones achieved yesterday and the lessons we will extract from our ongoing investigation, we will then prepare to re-fly as soon as possible." Working Toward Nyx To date, the company has raised more than $230 million and plans to use much of that for the development of Nyx, which could fly as early as 2028 and focus on cargo delivery missions to low-Earth orbit. By demonstrating this capability, Huby said her company would like to secure funding from the European Space Agency to develop a crew-rated version of the spacecraft and a vehicle to return cargo from the Moon. This is not an unreasonable plan. SpaceX required significant funding from NASA, nearly $3 billion, to develop its Crew Dragon vehicle after demonstrating an initial cargo version. Huby said The Exploration Company would require a similar amount of funding from European nations. It is not possible to raise that money from private capital markets right now by promising a great return a decade from now. By one metric, Monday's flight was a significant success. Compared to the United States and China, the commercial space industry in Europe has lagged behind, beset by a less favorable environment for startups and opposition by large, traditional space companies that have dominated Europe's orbital activities for decades. The Exploration Company reached space with a fairly large vehicle and flew it back through Earth's atmosphere less than four years after its founding. This is a credible start for the company. This story originally appeared on Ars Technica.
Yahoo
22-06-2025
- Science
- Yahoo
SpaceX Loses Contact With Starship in Third Test Flight Failure in a Row
The highly anticipated May 27 test flight of SpaceX's Starship spacecraft ended with the company's third mission failure in a row, following rocket explosions in January and March. SpaceX's ninth test flight since 2023 used a heavy rocket booster recovered from a previous test flight. Starship launched further than the previous two test flights, but ground control lost contact with the spacecraft, which spun out of control, reentered earth's atmosphere and broke apart. In a post on X, SpaceX said: "As if the flight test was not exciting enough, Starship experienced a rapid unscheduled disassembly. Teams will continue to review data and work toward our next flight test. With a test like this, success comes from what we learn, and today's test will help us improve Starship's reliability as SpaceX seeks to make life multiplanetary." The Federal Aviation Administration will require SpaceX to file paperwork on what went wrong and what it will do to protect public safety for its next launch. SpaceX CEO Elon Musk said he expects approvals for future flights to be speedier. "Launch cadence for next 3 flights will be faster, at approximately 1 every 3 to 4 weeks," he wrote on X, the social media platform he owns. Starship launched from Starbase spaceport near Brownsville, Texas. It was streamed online as previous test flights have been.
Gizmodo
19-06-2025
- Science
- Gizmodo
SpaceX Starship Explodes in Spectacular Fireball at Texas Test Facility
Are we on Mars yet? The upper stage prototype, designated Ship 36, exploded shortly before midnight local time on June 18 during routine preparations for an upcoming test flight. SpaceX is in the midst of preparing for Starship's next fully integrated test, known as Flight 10. The last several tests haven't gone well, but this prototype never even left the ground. The explosion—as shown in spectacular footage from at SpaceX's Massey facility, a test site located several miles from the launch mount at Starbase, Texas. The 171-foot-tall (51-meter) Starship upper stage 'experienced a major anomaly while on a test stand at Starbase,' SpaceX said in a statement on X. 'A safety clear area around the site was maintained throughout the operation and all personnel are safe and accounted for.' The Starbase team is coordinating with local authorities to manage the aftermath of the incident, SpaceX said, adding that, while the company reported no threat to nearby communities, it urged the public to steer clear of the area as safety measures are carried out. SpaceX CEO Elon Musk chimed in a few hours after the incident on X, brushing the incident off as 'Just a scratch.' He elaborated further this morning, saying the early data 'suggests a nitrogen COPV [composite overwrapped pressure vessel] in the payload bay failed below its proof pressure,' and that if this proves to be the case, it's the 'first time ever for this design.' A COPV is a lightweight tank made of composite fibers wrapped around a thin liner to store high-pressure fluids, according to NASA. No further details are known, but as SpaceNews points out, Starship was being prepared for a static fire test, and the explosion happened before the rocket had a chance to fire its Raptor engines. A June 18 advisory from the Federal Aviation Administration pointed to June 29 as a potential date for Flight 10, but that seems unlikely now. SpaceX is in a bit of a slump right now, with this incident adding to the pile of recent setbacks. Flight 7 in January 2024 experienced a propellant leak and fire triggered by unexpected vibrations in the propulsion system. In March, Flight 8 was cut short by a hardware failure in one of the Raptor engines, while Flight 9 in May successfully reached space, but a leak led to loss of control and the vehicle broke apart during reentry. SpaceX's Starship megarocket is built to carry people and cargo to the Moon, Mars, and other destinations around the solar system. It's a key part of NASA's Artemis program, which aims to land astronauts on the Moon by 2027, and is key to Elon Musk's goal of colonizing Mars.
The Independent
19-06-2025
- Science
- The Independent
Watch: Elon Musk's SpaceX Starship rocket engulfed by flames in explosion
A SpaceX Starship rocket exploded during a routine test on Wednesday (18 June) at Starbase, the company's launch site in Texas. Footage shows the 36 rocket, which was undergoing a static fire test, suddenly blowing up, with the screen going white before fading to reveal an enormous fireball. In a statement, Elon Musk 's SpaceX said the rocket suffered 'a major anomaly' whilst preparing for the tenth flight test. It said that 'all personnel are safe and accounted for', before stating that there are no hazards to nearby communities. The company advised people not to approach the site.
The Independent
19-06-2025
- Science
- The Independent
SpaceX Starship rocket explodes in dramatic fireball after ‘major anomaly'
A SpaceX rocket being tested in Texas exploded on Wednesday night, sending a dramatic fireball high into the sky. The company said the Starship"experienced a major anomaly" while on the test stand preparing for the tenth flight test at Starbase, SpaceX's launch site at the southern tip of Texas. Starship is the most powerful rocket ever made, and SpaceX hopes that it will eventually carry humans to the Moon and Mars. But first it must conduct a series of uncrewed tests – the latest of which was expected to happen as soon as this month. In advance of that test, SpaceX has conducted a series of tests of the Starship spacecraft as well as the booster engines that are due to carry it to space. The latest was a static fire test, in which the engines are turned on but the spacecraft stays attached to the ground, but it exploded as preparations were being made. "A safety clear area around the site was maintained throughout the operation and all personnel are safe and accounted for," SpaceX said in a statement on the social platform X. 'Our Starbase team is actively working to safe the test site and the immediate surrounding area in conjunction with local officials. There are no hazards to residents in surrounding communities, and we ask that individuals do not attempt to approach the area while safing operations continue.' It is unclear how much damage the explosion has done to the testing facilities and SpaceX's facilities near Starbase, its Texas town. More follows
