1 00:00:00,120 --> 00:00:05,440 On today's episode, we are getting into the latest space news, including Starship's 2 00:00:05,519 --> 00:00:11,279 first flight reveals a major design problem, Japan's Hakudo our commercial lander runs out 3 00:00:11,320 --> 00:00:16,000 of fuel and slams into the Moon, and Rocket Lab finds plans for a 4 00:00:16,079 --> 00:00:21,399 test flight with a preflown engine. This is the space Race. It's been 5 00:00:21,640 --> 00:00:26,800 just about two weeks since SpaceX made their first Starship test launch on April twentieth. 6 00:00:27,120 --> 00:00:30,800 Data and debris are still being sifted through in order to get an accurate 7 00:00:30,839 --> 00:00:34,840 picture of both what went wrong and the changes that will be needed to move 8 00:00:34,880 --> 00:00:39,759 forward with the Starship project. But one thing at least is clear. Starship 9 00:00:39,880 --> 00:00:44,799 has a big problem. The launch itself went relatively well for a first test. 10 00:00:45,079 --> 00:00:48,719 The world's most powerful rocket was able to lift off and power to an 11 00:00:48,719 --> 00:00:53,719 altitude of about thirty nine kilometers before losing control, pulling a couple flips in 12 00:00:53,759 --> 00:00:58,159 an attempt to right itself, and then exploding when the flight termination system kicked 13 00:00:58,159 --> 00:01:02,880 in. This sort of performs, while being somewhat disappointing, is much more 14 00:01:02,960 --> 00:01:07,079 in line with the average test of a new rocket. The goal of a 15 00:01:07,120 --> 00:01:10,959 test launch is to get as much data as possible, and failing to reach 16 00:01:11,040 --> 00:01:15,159 orbit and then exploding certainly gets a lot of data, but it was the 17 00:01:15,280 --> 00:01:19,840 damage to the launch area at the company's Bocachika test facility that was a real 18 00:01:19,920 --> 00:01:23,159 cause for concern. The site was torn to shreds by the forces of the 19 00:01:23,200 --> 00:01:27,319 super heavy booster and the chunks of concrete blasted out of the pad beneath the 20 00:01:27,439 --> 00:01:32,560 orbital launch mount. Damage from the launch was reported as far away as Port 21 00:01:32,640 --> 00:01:36,840 Isabel, Texas, where broken windows, ash and even what appears to be 22 00:01:37,000 --> 00:01:42,079 sand affected the community. According to CEO Elon Musk, the design solution for 23 00:01:42,200 --> 00:01:46,359 starship launch pads, a water cooled steel plate, was not ready in time 24 00:01:46,400 --> 00:01:51,000 for the FAA launch license, and SpaceX engineers believed, based on the data 25 00:01:51,040 --> 00:01:55,359 gathered at the static fire test on February ninth, that the special heat resistant 26 00:01:55,400 --> 00:01:59,920 fond egg concrete pad would stand up to the force and temperature of a full 27 00:02:00,079 --> 00:02:02,840 launch. If that's true, then they miss the mark by quite a bit. 28 00:02:04,200 --> 00:02:08,479 Engineering calculations are complicated and rely on many factors that aren't always a case 29 00:02:08,560 --> 00:02:13,599 of simple numbers. A lot of the variables have to be estimated based on 30 00:02:13,639 --> 00:02:17,159 the data and engineer has available to them, so it's understandable that they could 31 00:02:17,240 --> 00:02:23,960 have been mistaken, but this is a huge mistake. The crater directly under 32 00:02:23,000 --> 00:02:28,319 the orbital launch mount shows us that lesson, but it also reveals the biggest 33 00:02:28,479 --> 00:02:34,000 challenge SpaceX now faces, how are they going to get this monster under control. 34 00:02:34,479 --> 00:02:38,199 In a Twitter spaces event held last week, Elon reported that the damage 35 00:02:38,240 --> 00:02:43,080 to Starbase wasn't as bad as initially thought. The dented orbital tank farm and 36 00:02:43,280 --> 00:02:47,039 the shredded draw works on the Mecazilla tower were easily the most gnarly looking, 37 00:02:47,280 --> 00:02:52,479 but the Mecazilla chopsticks were lowered for repairs recently, so the draw works is 38 00:02:52,639 --> 00:02:55,800 fine, and the tanks in the fuel storage farm are actually just some exterior 39 00:02:55,879 --> 00:03:00,919 shielding and can be easily replaced. It's the crater that is the real issue, 40 00:03:01,240 --> 00:03:06,240 because whether this was a mistake with the math or just a resurgence of 41 00:03:06,280 --> 00:03:12,639 that classic SpaceX recklessness doesn't really matter. That damage isn't just inconvenient. It's 42 00:03:12,759 --> 00:03:16,759 very possible that the reason Starship lost control is because it damaged itself on the 43 00:03:16,840 --> 00:03:22,280 launchpad. The engine housings of a rocket are built to withstand the force generated 44 00:03:22,319 --> 00:03:28,080 by their engines. That's a given but otherwise they're filled with very delicate machinery. 45 00:03:28,400 --> 00:03:31,280 The pumps, engine bells, and the gimbling mechanisms that allow the engines 46 00:03:31,319 --> 00:03:38,280 to steer the rocket are all finely tuned and easily disrupted. So when Starships 47 00:03:38,280 --> 00:03:42,240 thirty three, raptor V two engines wash the pad with over seven thousand, 48 00:03:42,319 --> 00:03:46,000 five hundred and ninety tons of force and blew it to pieces, some of 49 00:03:46,039 --> 00:03:51,599 those chunks likely got shot into the engine cavity of the first stage booster. 50 00:03:52,000 --> 00:03:57,159 This is because on Earth, air pressure and gravity keep engine plumes more concentrated. 51 00:03:57,400 --> 00:04:00,280 If you've ever seen a rocket reach higher altitudes and wondered why the engine 52 00:04:00,280 --> 00:04:04,960 flames suddenly spread wider, that's why the air pressure and gravity are decreasing, 53 00:04:05,039 --> 00:04:10,599 and so it spreads out. This is also why NASA doesn't worry so much 54 00:04:10,599 --> 00:04:14,800 about landing vehicles on the Moon or Mars without a pad. On Earth, 55 00:04:14,879 --> 00:04:19,839 a concentrated plume would cause ejecta material from a newly formed crater to possibly lodge 56 00:04:19,879 --> 00:04:25,199 itself in the engines. But on places like Mars and the Moon, engine 57 00:04:25,240 --> 00:04:29,240 plumes wouldn't make much of a crater and the debris wouldn't get pushed around as 58 00:04:29,360 --> 00:04:32,240 much back at Boca Chica. However, that super heavy booster tunneled into the 59 00:04:32,319 --> 00:04:36,079 concrete. All that amount of force needed was to make a crack in the 60 00:04:36,120 --> 00:04:41,279 pad. Once concrete is cracked, it begins to lose its strength, and 61 00:04:41,399 --> 00:04:46,120 after that the engine plume likely created a pressure pocket and blasted pieces upwards like 62 00:04:46,240 --> 00:04:50,839 a geyser. Now SpaceX's plan to use a liquid cooled steel plate is a 63 00:04:50,959 --> 00:04:57,040 good one. Scientist like doctor Phil Metzker of NASA kac Swamp Works uses a 64 00:04:57,120 --> 00:05:01,519 similar solution when testing landing vehicles designed or other planets. That plate, especially 65 00:05:01,519 --> 00:05:06,160 when combined with a delue system that's already installed in the OM at PoCA Chica, 66 00:05:06,439 --> 00:05:11,360 would pretty much solve the crater problem. The issue is that it's a 67 00:05:11,439 --> 00:05:15,160 little too late for that. The FAA is not happy with the results of 68 00:05:15,199 --> 00:05:18,800 the April twentieth test flight, and it's hard to blame them. SpaceX didn't 69 00:05:18,879 --> 00:05:23,040 have to take this risk, and now they are not only going to have 70 00:05:23,120 --> 00:05:27,560 to take a lot of time to make extensive repairs before attempting to install this 71 00:05:27,639 --> 00:05:30,720 new steel plate system, but they are going to have to jump through a 72 00:05:30,759 --> 00:05:35,560 lot of hoops before the FAA grants them another launch license. Elon predicted that 73 00:05:35,600 --> 00:05:40,240 the damage should be fixed in as little as two months, and said that 74 00:05:40,279 --> 00:05:44,480 there are still four or five Starship launches planned for this year, but the 75 00:05:44,560 --> 00:05:47,680 repairs to the OLM alone look like they're going to take a while. Then 76 00:05:47,680 --> 00:05:51,079 they have to finish that delue system they installed back in September last year, 77 00:05:51,360 --> 00:05:57,600 install and test the water cooled steel plate system, and of course fill in 78 00:05:57,639 --> 00:06:00,360 that crater. That is a lot of work on top of trying to convince 79 00:06:00,399 --> 00:06:04,680 the FAA that they can handle another launch. I don't think anyone is worried 80 00:06:04,720 --> 00:06:09,360 about if SpaceX will be allowed to launch again, but we will likely have 81 00:06:09,439 --> 00:06:13,560 to wait a little longer to make sure that the next launch nails it safety 82 00:06:13,600 --> 00:06:17,399 first. This time. Japanese company I Space has lost their Hakudo our lander 83 00:06:17,639 --> 00:06:23,240 after losing communication during its descent to the lunar surface on April twenty fifth. 84 00:06:23,720 --> 00:06:28,319 This mission was attempting to become the very first privately funded moon landing, but 85 00:06:28,639 --> 00:06:31,720 just before the automated probe was scheduled to begin its touchdown procedures, the I 86 00:06:31,879 --> 00:06:38,240 Space mission control lost communication with the vehicle. Telemetry was still being sent back, 87 00:06:38,399 --> 00:06:42,360 but the team could no longer issue orders, and just before the final 88 00:06:42,439 --> 00:06:46,800 landing was confirmed, I Space stopped receiving anything from their probe. Not long 89 00:06:46,879 --> 00:06:51,800 afterwards, I Space CEO to Keshi Hakamata reported that we have to assume that 90 00:06:51,839 --> 00:06:56,639 we could not complete the landing on the lunar surface. A rough call to 91 00:06:56,759 --> 00:07:00,720 make, but the last bits of telemetry sent by the doomed Hakudo and the 92 00:07:00,839 --> 00:07:04,920 data blackout supports the guests that the vehicle made a hard landing, meaning it 93 00:07:05,040 --> 00:07:11,199 likely slammed into the lunar surface way too fast and was destroyed. The last 94 00:07:11,199 --> 00:07:15,680 reports from the probe indicated that it was just ninety kilometers above its intended landing 95 00:07:15,720 --> 00:07:20,040 site Atlas Crater and falling at a rate of thirty three kilometers per hour, 96 00:07:20,399 --> 00:07:25,040 and that would have been fine, But another reading at the same time showed 97 00:07:25,240 --> 00:07:30,279 that the Hakudo's fuel reserves were lower than it needed to land, so the 98 00:07:30,360 --> 00:07:33,560 unfortunate probe ran out of fuel part way down and just fell the rest of 99 00:07:33,600 --> 00:07:40,319 the way. Unsurprisingly, fuel calculations for a lunar landing are complicated. Usually 100 00:07:40,399 --> 00:07:44,279 missions to Space over budget for fuel just in case, but as this was 101 00:07:44,360 --> 00:07:47,560 a privately funded endeavor, I Space was likely trying to be efficient with their 102 00:07:47,560 --> 00:07:53,920 propellant reserves. Everything about this mission was designed with efficiency in mind. They 103 00:07:54,000 --> 00:07:58,639 launched in December twenty twenty two and took a long gravity propelled orbit to ensure 104 00:07:58,680 --> 00:08:01,759 they didn't have to waste fuel burning directly for the Moon. This orbit took 105 00:08:01,800 --> 00:08:07,279 the probe over eight hundred and fifty five thousand kilometers from Earth, the furthest 106 00:08:07,360 --> 00:08:11,759 that any commercially operated spacecraft has ever flown. The Hakudo art itself is a 107 00:08:11,839 --> 00:08:18,480 legacy project from the two thousand and seven Google Lunar X Prize competitions that challenged 108 00:08:18,519 --> 00:08:22,199 privately funded teams to develop and launch a new lander for the Moon by twenty 109 00:08:22,240 --> 00:08:26,480 eighteen. The Hakudo, which means white rabbit in Japanese, was meant to 110 00:08:26,519 --> 00:08:31,480 be a hireable landing system that would ferry customer payloads to the Moon. None 111 00:08:31,519 --> 00:08:35,960 of the X Prize teams were able to meet the deadline, but Team Hakudo, 112 00:08:35,080 --> 00:08:39,200 run by Takeshi Hakamada, was one of the five finalists not to be 113 00:08:39,200 --> 00:08:43,360 defeated. Hakamato, who founded I Space in twenty ten, would continue development 114 00:08:43,440 --> 00:08:48,840 of his lander. The vehicle's solid design drew partners like Ariane Group, who 115 00:08:48,919 --> 00:08:52,039 supplied the main engine for the probe, and SpaceX, who launched the Hakudo 116 00:08:52,080 --> 00:08:58,080 aboard a Falcon nine back in December. The mission was also supported by several 117 00:08:58,120 --> 00:09:01,639 customers who paid to have their payload brought to the Moon, including the United 118 00:09:01,639 --> 00:09:07,360 Arab Emirates and their tiny ten kilogram rover Rashid. Rashid was meant to be 119 00:09:07,399 --> 00:09:11,720 the UAE's first foray into lunar operations and was intended to study the Moon's surface 120 00:09:11,759 --> 00:09:18,080 and aspects of lunar regolith and dust. It's never easy to lose emission, 121 00:09:18,240 --> 00:09:22,600 especially so close to the finish line, but the Hakudo r got very close 122 00:09:22,639 --> 00:09:26,360 and it seems that the only issue was the amount of fuel they calculated for 123 00:09:26,600 --> 00:09:31,159 was a bit off. Hakomeda and I Space have diligently worked on this landing 124 00:09:31,159 --> 00:09:35,720 system for almost two decades now and they have no intentions on giving up, 125 00:09:35,799 --> 00:09:39,039 so good luck on the next flight. I Space Rocket Lab is continuing their 126 00:09:39,080 --> 00:09:43,519 march towards reusability with the announcement that the company would be attempting to launch one 127 00:09:43,600 --> 00:09:50,039 of their Electron rockets with one flight tested or previously flown engine mixed into the 128 00:09:50,120 --> 00:09:54,559 rockets. Usual array of nine three D printed Rutherford engines. There's been no 129 00:09:54,639 --> 00:09:58,039 word on an exact date, but unless there are major issues with refitting this 130 00:09:58,120 --> 00:10:03,919 preflown engine, the test launch will likely happen sometime this year. The April 131 00:10:03,000 --> 00:10:09,240 nineteenth announcement comes a little over a month after CEO Peterbeck suggested that the company 132 00:10:09,279 --> 00:10:13,879 would abandon attempts to catch their electron rockets first stage with a helicopter, a 133 00:10:13,960 --> 00:10:18,919 maneuver that they very nearly succeeded at last year. However, after some testing 134 00:10:18,960 --> 00:10:22,559 on engines recovered from the ocean, BEC said that they were surprised to find 135 00:10:22,559 --> 00:10:26,759 that the Rutherfords held up remarkably well, and with some slight modifications see recovery 136 00:10:26,799 --> 00:10:31,799 of the boosters would likely save the company some money while they worked towards their 137 00:10:31,840 --> 00:10:35,960 new Neutron rocket, which is designed to land in much the same way that 138 00:10:35,039 --> 00:10:39,360 these SpaceX Falcon nine does. Adding to this, on April seventeenth, Rocket 139 00:10:39,399 --> 00:10:46,879 Lab announced HASTE the Hypersonic Accelerator Suborbital Test Electron. This version of their Electron 140 00:10:46,960 --> 00:10:52,799 rocket is focused on helping develop hypersonic suborbital flights and the technology needed to make 141 00:10:52,840 --> 00:10:56,559 those more reliable. Their first launch of this system is planned for the first 142 00:10:56,559 --> 00:11:01,399 half of twenty twenty three for a confidential customer, likely the US Department of 143 00:11:01,399 --> 00:11:05,879 Defense. Hypersonic suborbital flights have been discussed for quite some time as a way 144 00:11:05,879 --> 00:11:09,919 to quickly get people and supplies around the world without a plane, in fact 145 00:11:11,080 --> 00:11:15,440 way faster than a plane could manage. The idea is that a rocket would 146 00:11:15,519 --> 00:11:18,200 launch, but instead of pushing into orbit, it uses the fuel normally meant 147 00:11:18,240 --> 00:11:22,960 for orbiting to control where the rocket comes down. This plus some landing hardware, 148 00:11:24,080 --> 00:11:28,320 allows for some very fast movement around the globe, with some early experiments 149 00:11:28,360 --> 00:11:33,639 suggesting that a suborbital vehicle could get passengers from Australia to Europe in just ninety 150 00:11:33,720 --> 00:11:39,279 minutes. SpaceX has even toyed with this idea for their Starship, using the 151 00:11:39,320 --> 00:11:43,799 Big Lander version of their vehicle to deliver emergency goods faster than current disaster response 152 00:11:43,840 --> 00:11:48,279 would be able to. So this haste announcement gives rocket Lab two ways to 153 00:11:48,279 --> 00:11:54,720 reuse preflown equipment. Refurbishing engines and hole boosters for more orbital missions is the 154 00:11:54,799 --> 00:11:58,519 goal, and would lower the cost of operating electron in the same way that 155 00:11:58,600 --> 00:12:01,240 SpaceX has with its out Can nine, but being able to make use of 156 00:12:01,320 --> 00:12:07,639 refurbished engines for some less strenuous suborbital equipment testing seems like a pretty smart way 157 00:12:07,679 --> 00:12:11,039 to get even more out of Electron, so rocket Lab can focus on getting 158 00:12:11,080 --> 00:12:13,360 Neutron up and running.