2.7 second long static fire with 4 premature shutdown Raptor engines.

  • burble@lemmy.dbzer0.com
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    11 months ago

    The engine shutdowns and early test end aren’t my favorite if Booster 9 is still supposed to be used for the next orbital test flight.

    • yak@lmy.brx.io
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      11 months ago

      Waiting to find out the reasons for the premature shutdowns, and for pics of the steel plates…

      Great to see the test campaign swing back into action!

      • burble@lemmy.dbzer0.com
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        11 months ago

        I’m hoping this test was mostly for the deluge system, not the booster, so they were running with extra safe engine shutdown limits. That’s just blind hope, though.

    • BorgDrone@lemmy.one
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      11 months ago

      On the other hand, the whole point of testing is to find these issues and fix them before the real flight.

      I wonder if they will do another test before orbital.

      • burble@lemmy.dbzer0.com
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        11 months ago

        I mean, I get the hardware rich testing mindset, but I thought the engine design was supposed to be stabilizing and getting more reliable. You have to admit that losing 4 engines in under 3 seconds isn’t great.

        • BasketKees@lemmy.world
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          11 months ago

          Engine design is not stabilising yet, they are still pushing performance. Raptor 3s are now rolling off the line which again have increased performance. They also target a reduction in complexity with each iteration which should in the end increase reliability. But reliability itself is a later target once the design is mostly settled.

        • BorgDrone@lemmy.one
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          11 months ago

          Yeah, it’s not exactly ideal. Let’s hope the root cause isn’t a big issue.