Even though the Starship rocket exploded, SpaceX employees cheered and cheered. An explosion would seem like the worst thing possible in a space launch, but SpaceX defines success in other terms. Why was the launch not a failure, although it would seem so at first glance, given that the rocket exploded and did not even go into orbit?

The first test of the Starship, a 120-meter-tall system consisting of the Super Heavy (main stage) and Starship (ship) elements, ended in an explosion less than four minutes after launch. The entire test was to last 90 minutes, after which the Staship section was to reach the ocean. Eight minutes after takeoff, he was scheduled to complete his flight and main stage.

The two sections did not separate and the rocket exploded, SpaceX uses a technical term that sounds better “rapid unplanned disassembly”.

• VIDEO SpaceX launched the world’s largest Starship rocket. Both rocket stages exploded three minutes after launch

The American press even used the term “successful failure”, that is, a kind of “successful failure”, the idea was that although the Starship exploded and various elements could not be tested, SpaceX would analyze the data and learn a lot for future attempts.

Why it was NOT a disaster for Starship

Expectations for the Starship’s first flight were low in full. Even Elon Musk, known for his promises, was not very optimistic, and everyone at SpaceX has publicly said as clearly as possible: this is the first test flight, there are bound to be things that go wrong, and we learn from them.

There was no explosion on the launch padbut above 30 km, because the ramp would cause a lot of damage and the future test program would suffer, especially if the 150-meter launch tower was destroyed.

SpaceX works on the principle of “trial and error”.”, that is, on the idea that success comes after many failures, but you need to try hard and make a lot of mistakes to build a reliable rocket. It should not be forgotten that the Falcon 9, which is now SpaceX’s super-reliable rocket (61 flights last year), also exploded several times in the early years, but the engineers learned from their mistakes.

The difference is big from how NASA works.

With SLS, NASA can’t afford to try as hard, but has to do more analysis and ground testing, which means the program is more expensive, more difficult to promote, and launches less frequently. NASA has to do this because an explosion at launch would be bad for the agency’s image and could mean funding cuts from Congress.

The beautiful part is that Elon Musk is ready to risk the publicc, realizing that the rocket could explode and many would criticize what happened. It is quite possible that in 2-3 years we will see many more successful releases than failures.

SpaceX was not going to return the two items system, even if everything was going smoothly. Both would end up in the ocean anyway, so they couldn’t be relied upon for future missions.

Elon Musk’s company even has a rocket plant and an assembly line. The fact that the first Starship blew up is not a problem, and Elon Musk has said that another attempt will be in a few months. He also said he hopes to have Starship in orbit this year, and if not in 2023, then definitely in 2024.

SpaceX will have plenty to do with future tests, as it has five superheavy boosters and eight Stasrhip ships on its pipelines.