Tag Archives: explosion

Science

Elon Musk Laments “Foolish” Mistake That Led to Starship Explosion

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Third time might be the charm.

Testing, Testing

SpaceX CEO Elon Musk has his regrets about tests of his space company’s Starship rocket.

The latest two prototypes went up in flames during their respective maiden voyages, in December and earlier this week.

One of the main culprits for the explosions: the sequence of events the spacecraft had to run through as they descended in order to first right themselves and then provide enough thrust to not get crushed by the rapidly approaching ground.

It’s an extremely difficult maneuver to pull off. Earlier today, Musk admitted that “we were too dumb” to light only two engines to provide enough landing thrust. By design, Starship only requires the thrust of two Raptor engines to make a soft landing.

Foolish Mistake

Igniting all three of the SN9 prototype’s Raptor rocket engines once approaching the ground would have provided fewer points of failure during Tuesday’s test flight. In other words, lighting three engines would allow it to chose the two engines required to make a soft landing.

Responding to SpaceX enthusiast Tim Dodd, better known as Everyday Astronaut, on Twitter, Musk acknowledged what went wrong. “It was foolish of us not to start three engines and immediately shut down one, as two are needed to land,” Musk replied.

Luckily, it’s a change that can be implemented for SN10, according to Musk.

Going to Mars

SpaceX has its work cut out for it. Developing an orbital rocket capable of sending 100 passengers as far as Mars is a huge undertaking.

But while an explosion looks violent and destructive, engineers are able to gain a ton of insights into what goes wrong.

“We got a lot of good data, and the primary objective — to demonstrate control of the vehicle in the subsonic re-entry — looked to be very good, and we will take a lot out of that,” SpaceX principal integration engineer John Insprucker said during SpaceX’s launch webcast on Tuesday.

More on Starship: Elon Musk Breaks Silence on Starship Crash: “We Were Too Dumb”



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US

3 critically hurt in explosion on film set near Los Angeles

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Three people on a film set were critically hurt in an explosion that sparked a grass fire near Los Angeles on Tuesday, authorities said. The blast was reported around 4:45 p.m. in a mixed-use industrial neighborhood of Santa Clarita, said Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Deputy Abraham Bedoyan. Ambulances took three critical patients to hospitals, according to Supervisor Martin Rangel with the LA County Fire Department. Fire spread to a grassy hillside but firefighters were able to quickly douse the flames, Rangel said. Aerial TV news footage showed fire crews at a large lot with multiple cargo containers. Sheriff’s officials advised residents to stay clear of the area about 30 miles (48 kilometers) north of downtown Los Angeles.

LOS ANGELES —

Three people on a film set were critically hurt in an explosion that sparked a grass fire near Los Angeles on Tuesday, authorities said.

The blast was reported around 4:45 p.m. in a mixed-use industrial neighborhood of Santa Clarita, said Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Deputy Abraham Bedoyan.

Ambulances took three critical patients to hospitals, according to Supervisor Martin Rangel with the LA County Fire Department.

Fire spread to a grassy hillside but firefighters were able to quickly douse the flames, Rangel said. Aerial TV news footage showed fire crews at a large lot with multiple cargo containers.

Sheriff’s officials advised residents to stay clear of the area about 30 miles (48 kilometers) north of downtown Los Angeles.

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World

Somalia: Ongoing siege following car explosion at hotel gate in Mogadishu

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Police told CNN the country’s former defense minister, Mohamed Nur Galal, is confirmed dead in the attack. Officials did not provide further details and did not confirm whether there were more casualties in the ongoing battle.

Somali Prime Minister Mohamed Hussein Roble sent condolences following Galal’s death.

“My heartfelt condolences to the families of the victims of the heinous terror attack in Hotel Afrik including Gen Mohamed Nur Galal who served his country with valor for over 50 years,” Roble said via Twitter. “This attack is yet another reminder of the savage enemy we face. We must unite against terror.”

A car bomb exploded at the gate of Afrik hotel and was followed by gunfire heard inside, Somali police captain, Ahmed Hassan, told CNN. The incident occurred around 5 p.m. local time (9 a.m. ET), Hassan added.

Gunmen from the al Qaeda affiliate Al-Shabaab gained access to the building after the car bomb explosion at the gate, he said.

There is an ongoing operation to rescue people from inside the hotel, according to police.

The reason for the attack is also unclear but Hassan said a top military commander was inside the hotel at the time of the attack. Other senior military officials and lawmakers were also inside the hotel, Hassan said.

The hotel is frequented by members of Parliament, politicians and security officials, but not foreigners.

Outside the hotel is the main security checkpoint to the airport and Halane base, which houses western missions, including the US embassy.

Al-Shabaab has claimed responsibility for the attack through a statement broadcast by Andalus Radio, its mouthpiece channel. CNN has been unable to independently verify this claim.

The Islamist insurgent group, according to the Council on Foreign Relations, wants to turn Somalia into a fundamentalist Islamic state.
It claimed responsibility for a a truck bombing outside Mogadishu in December which killed 85 including two Turkish citizens.
Another terror attack at a hotel in Kismayo in Somalia’s Jubaland state in July left more than 26 people dead including journalists and local government officials.
The militant group also said it was behind a triple car bombing near a hotel in Mogadishu in which at least 52 people were killed and 100 injured in November 2018.
US forces that had been based in Somalia began their withdrawal from the country in December and were redirected to other bases in East Africa.

US troops in Somalia primarily train and advise local Somali forces as they battle Al-Shabaab. The US military also carries out airstrikes against the group and the local ISIS affiliate in the country, killing a top Al-Shabaab leader in a targeted strike in September.

Former US President Donald Trump ordered the majority of US troops to leave Somalia “by early 2021,” in just one of the major military policy decisions taken in the final days of his administration.

Omar Nor reported from Mogadishu and Radina Gigova wrote from Atlanta, Georgia.

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