A Closer Look At Why SpaceX Aborted The Booster Catch

[@kristinaF54]

Thanks for stating the reason why the catch was aborted. You wouldn't believe the amount of clickbait videos on YT from vloggers on the reason for the abort to only then not actually address the reason. Your video literally answers it at the start.

[@jonathanclemmer8971]

I really like how your videos are "just the facts" with no added stuff (in-video affiliate ads, or dumb jokes...). You are now my only source of SpaceX updates. Thanks! 👍

[@thetobi583]

you know what? This guy here replaces Marcus House, Matt Lowne, and NasaSpaceFlight for my starship news. I'll still visit Lowne for KSP videos.

[@Xx_Nuclearant_xX]

@@thetobi583same. Everyone else just drags theirs out and adds useless stuff. I wish Matt Lowne made more KSP videos instead of space news..

[@rador3573]

For me, Marcus House is too good, this guy for me definitely replaces WAI ​@@thetobi583

[@ktravers]

I like how he uses his actual voice

[@saligator8879]

😂 is this a reference to "What about it"?

[@raheemabdul1066]

This channel is better than any other space related KZbinrs, straight to the point information, keep it up!

[@bluesteel8376]

Yes! I am really starting to get bothered by those channels that add so many extra words to pad the run time of their videos.

[@michaelarbach]

I was pleasantly surprised to learn why within the first minute, thanks for not beating around the bush for 8 minutes!!!

[@nickg9876]

Maybe the bent lightning/comms tower on top of the tower was the reason after all

[@justinatwood8728]

It kinda looks like the edge of the engine plume got a bit closer to it than in the past launches.

[@The-KP]

"FSD is not yet available for your vehicle" 😅

[@goldgamercommenting2990]

@@justinatwood8728 I suggest we add more heat shielding

[@qwerty112311]

@@justinatwood8728bruh it pitched over so remarkably fast it almost looked like it would hit the tower.

[@mrkeogh]

Launch damage should be a predictable issue and easily dealt with. SpaceX keeps making these unforced errors. It smacks of inexperienced engineers who don't appreciate the issues involved in launching heavy vehicles. Or else they're being overruled by someone above them 🤨 "Iterative design" does not mean half thinking through things, then fixing them after an utterly predictable failure. That's just wasteful.

[@selectthedead]

congratulation on 50.000 subs and thanks for the update

[@aeroflip97]

gratz on 50k

[@JtM8292]

🤔 Hmm I wanna know what that pipe is thats hangin over the top of the booster !? 0:06 !

[@lawsnewton]

My bet is that antenna will eventually be ripped down and a hard line will be run else where.

[@ExcavationNation]

I feel that would have been done originally, making me wonder if there's other sensors on that antenna requiring it to be so close.?

[@ryelor123]

@@ExcavationNation I think so. Its part of the highly-accurate guidance. You can't just rely on GPS for that level of precision. They'll probably harden that antenna and then have a spare, deployable one on the tower than can be erected in the event that the primary antenna gets damaged again. You don't want to rely solely on a system that deploys an antenna due to the risk of malfunctions but having that as a backup would really help.

[@DavidPeck-DP]

Maybe they will just add more lines to hold it in place.

[@mrkeogh]

That's such an obvious solution that it's kinda terrifying SpaceX didn't think of it well in advance. The damage done by the Saturn V launches to the pad was pretty spectacular, there's slow motion footage of it freely available on KZbin. Are SpaceX seriously telling us they never bothered to check what a massive rocket exhaust plume might do to an antenna? Also: they stripped a lot of reentry tiles of Starship...I'm guessing that was to offset the fuel in the header tank for the (really underwhelming) relight test. FWIW the relight plume looked very green, which hints that it was rich in hypergolics. So they may not have even demonstrated an ullage burn or establishing an sustained propellant burn from the tank...

[@ExcavationNation]

@@mrkeogh exactly, so there's something about it that needs to be so close. I'm guessing it's used to automate the catch and needs to be in proximity. Considering the starship itself uses starlink for coms I'd presume. Granted I'm not a rocket pro and have zero knowledge on the topic. I just think that a man that can make a car drive by itself and a rocket land itself wouldn't place an antenna so close if it wasn't needed. But then again, highly intelligent people sometimes overlook the obvious things us norms say "why Dat ther."

[@jacekpiterow900]

Subscribed for short no BS info. Nice job.

[@cidhomerimperialpneulemen2107]

Finally ,a sans fluff coverage. Straight to the point 👉

[@ChiefZomms]

Great recap and video. Earned my sub! KEEP IT GOING BUCKET BOY!

[@CGChris-]

So happy to subscribe to a channel who gets to the point with real information and no monotonous history lessons, etc first. Wondering what was different about this launch that resulted in the damage to the tower antenna and no damage on flight 5?

[@eamonia]

I wish I could subscribe a few hundred thousand more times. You're truly great. _Awesome_ channel, dude.

[@TetrologyGamingBattlefield]

Weird how FAA has changed their tune recently lol

[@colincampbell767]

I guess that all federal agencies have the same 'secret primary mission' that the US Army does: "Don't piss off Congress." I'm serious - when I was selected for a tour as an IG - they literally said that in the training course.

[@Hungary_0987]

@@colincampbell767damn

[@MKSense1]

It is a new serif in town called Trump. Not that it will help Musk to be more successful.

[@kukasr]

the reason is called "Trump" :)

[@ryelor123]

I think its because of the fear of a lawsuit considering that damages could be assessed by Musk. The FAA was really not in a very fun position because they had everyone trying to pull them in every direction all at once. It was one of those situations were nothing they did would satisfy everyone. I think their hard-line stance on SpaceX for a while was really just them forcing the problem to come to a conclusion once lawsuits were threatened and they thus has justification to do what SpaceX wanted at the chagrin of everyone else.

[@carlospalmero6788]

Maybe setting back the antenna location can mitigate the stress from the launch plume!

[@Johnwashere-dt2ov]

Critical comms requires redundant physical infrastructure in independent locations with physical cable diverse paths. Looks like old best practice is either forgotten, not considered or no funding. $200K? $500k? Mitigates against loss of a $10M? $20M rocket booster.

[@togfanatic3781]

​@@Johnwashere-dt2ov agree its a miniscule amount compare to the bosster price . on the good side that booster it meant to be abandon anyway after this flight so overall its fine i think they learn thier lesson for next time .

[@Johnwashere-dt2ov]

@ retired Telecom/electonics/electrical engineer. Spent most part of my career mentoring young Engineers and recommending to business leaders including military and emergency services of the importance and value of redundancy in critical infrastructure. Sitting back having a beer and watching a new generation of Agile engineers/developers/Elon hating on previous generations and proudly inventing “new stuff” that was always there.

[@DavidPeck-DP]

​@@Johnwashere-dt2ovI'm not sure Elon thinks in terms of redundancy, he's more of a delete until you prove you needed it guy.

[@CARRETEROPUNTACANA]

Excellent and detailed report.

[@sallerc]

Thanks for the video

[@thetobi583]

"Booster to Tower, how's it hanging?" "..."

[@misamsung6191]

It doesn't really matter that the catching was aborted, what really matters is that the abort feature worked as advertised. I'd rather see the booster and ship land in the ocean than slam into the Mechazilla structure.

[@Hungary_0987]

This is the only channel where comments say they subscribed instead of unsubbscribed 😂

[@Marco-xz7rf]

It would be cool if they maybe build an alternative landing area, like a deep pool or some structure into the ocean, that the landing booster still can be used and isn't completely lost. Or maybe have something that swims and some strong rope, so when the booster falls into the ocean, it will stay afloat and can simply be pulled back to shore :D

[@altercaze]

You got a like and a sub! Nice explanation

[@Study49]

The big question is “Can Space X and Blue Origin complete their NASA Human Landing System Contracts and safely land NASA astronauts near the lunar South Pole before China’s lands their first crewed mission at the lunar South Pole?”

[@ryelor123]

Yeah. It'll be like with the MIG-25 and the F-15: China will pretend they're further along than they actually are which will cause America to panic and get things done sooner.

[@TheBensMeister]

I wonder if the problem wasn't significant, but because they have everything on high alert it was an easy divert. They needed to prove that a late flag could still result in a perfect water landing. The next flight will be a last second divert back to the water.

[@BlackWolf18C]

I also noticed how the Super Heavy did not pitch away from the tower immediately on launch, unlike last flight. I wonder if that is why the mast bent when it didn't last time?

[@WiliiamNoTell]

Thanks for sharing! Nicely done.

[@chris.eskimo]

Great explanation !!

[@geesehoward700]

will the booster and the starship land on the same tower or they use both towers?

[@filonin2]

The same tower. The entire purpose of the tower is to catch both and restack and relaunch quickly so you do it on one. Also, only 1 tower is complete and the other will not be done by then.

[@cube2fox]

Will it catch the booster, put it on the launch mount, then catch the ship?

[@snakevenom4954]

​@@cube2fox The ship would be caught somewhere around 12 hours after launch. The ship needs to be on the right path to intercept the tower and everytime it orbits the Earth, it's path moves a little. But the arms can move a lot. They can move to one side of the Booster so the ship flame doesn't touch the booster. There's a good render of it where the ship gets caught to the right of the booster and placed on top of the booster afterwards

[@Wurtoz9643]

At first they’ll probably either remove the booster first or use the other tower. But later on they’ll probably do what @snakevenom4954 says.

[@dataripz]

Newbie here but I'm a fan of your channel!

[@superkaboose1066]

Thank you for being straight to the point.

[@ScottRoberts-r5d]

Thanks for explanation, there's been a LOT of speculation, some concerning the antennae on the tower.

[@maqq9799]

best space news channel on youtube

[@frc1255]

The booster splashdown is a valuable safety demonstration in itself! 🎉

[@Leaf.Commented]

If the 'Catch' was abandoned due to lack of Computer Comms, it is time Elon invested in 'Tower Two' in order to be able to perform a catch function and not lose an entire assembly.

[@SpinStar1956]

Hats-Off to everyone involved! Don't care what anyone says, all of this is absolutely spectacular and stunningly impressive! I've worked with complex systems, and there is so many things that have to go right at the exact time. Spacex has really put themselves out there and I'm amazed at the success they've had. On the tower, with it bent, it could have pulled apart coaxial cables carrying the RF to and from the antenna. They probably had a backup, but many times just because you have it doesn't mean you're fully comfortable using it...

[@marcmayou1422]

Did Spacex dump the booster like a test

[@TheArmstrong1969]

The rate of failure about catching booster should be almost zero, otherwise they risk to destroy the tower. There is an abort mode like this one in flight 6, but is something goes wrong near the tower is a huge problem.

[@makomadns4]

Wonder if this means they will eventually built an “emergency” tower further away from the launch area, but close enough to redirect if necessary. An alternative that wouldn’t risk your launch infrastructure if the booster crashed, but also save an expensive booster when a concerning problem (but not necessarily a critical failure) happens.

[@GeeBeeMike]

Such a shame. It’s such a beautiful spacecraft. Sad to see it go to waste after it’s performed flawlessly.

[@MrMatklug]

the tower broke before the booster did!

[@rador3573]

They need a some sort of Waterfall style sound suppresion system on the tower, i feel like this isnt being studied enough

[@TheEvilmooseofdoom]

Why do you think it requires more study?

[@opensource111]

Straight to the point …. You got my subscription.

[@acesw6124]

Good Information packed vodeo

[@RetroJack]

Spoiler: We still don't know what was wrong at the tower end. Sure, some conditions weren't met, but what were those condidtions, and why weren't they met?

[@parkershaw8529]

In the near future, they can have two towers to pick for catch, that will increase the chance dramatically!

[@niyazzmoithu20]

There will be several towers.

[@gh3meister]

How is the tower going to catch both the ship and booster? Or do they go to different towers?

[@ajm2872]

Perhaps the real tower catch was the friends we made along the way...

[@GeorgeDoughty-m8e]

Abolish EPA

[@TheEvilmooseofdoom]

That's a brainless notion.

[@ji7iij]

Elon’s team, an effort so grand, A rocket’s flight, a dream so planned. But in the salty sea, will it decay? Extraordinary achievement, come what may! 🚀😯

[@charliefortin555]

I thought the liftoff was slow. Are they using less than max throttle?

[@u808man]

Maybe it was just me but… did anyone else notice that the entire starship had a slight “lean” to it (away from the tower) as it was awaiting the long countdown to launch?…

[@TheEvilmooseofdoom]

It wasn't leaning.

[@togfanatic3781]

didnt see it

[@Sashquatsch]

One tower for launch and another for catching

[@michaelmurphy6195]

If that is the case, it seems to me they would have had com issues prior to the boost back burn.

[@dataripz]

Whats the cost of the loss?

[@nucleosys]

When is flight to radioactive mars planet?

[@nicholasmaude6906]

It's a spacecraft NOT a ship!

[@vatitansbaseball]

Would it make sense to have a large landing barge standing by during launches in the unlikely event a booster has to abort a tower catch again?

[@martinross6416]

Will there be a backup tower in the future?

[@IQof2]

I think they want to build a forest of towers that are launching, stacking, catching, and being serviced all at once.

[@togfanatic3781]

well yes .

[@niyazzmoithu20]

yeah.​@@IQof2

[@DarkKnight-jf4bf]

Eh

[@yukit119]

0:35 in this shot the secound tower looks like the Leaning Tower of Pisa. Probebely the fishey lense right?

[@mongomoonbladder8023]

Can someone answer a question for me; can the booster and Starship be refurbished after landing in the ocean, or are they written off?

[@riparianlife97701]

Cheaper than scrapping it.

[@myvideosetc.8271]

Direct to the answers THEN elaborates: Inmediate like.

[@michaelwhitney4196]

Was the booster recovered? I’m sure the Raptor engines got dunked in salt water…which can’t be a good thing?

[@Tommork-bq6ms]

So how long... How long(FAA) Before #7 with block#2 item #1

[@iamaduckquack]

Might wanna look into some redundancy.

[@ValuedTeamMember]

If and when those towers are retired (not in our lifetime of course!), I wonder if they could be Zoned for "Penthouse Bachelor pads?" Just asking

[@robertbrander2074]

Slow Downnnn !

[@lyricbread]

Last.

[@Scaliad]

No, you are not!!!!

[@ehudgavron9086]

Brother, so so so well put together. Kudos. Most concise analysis I've seen/heard/red yet since the abort. I'd have broken it into multiple segments with FT6 being 0000-0339 and the rest later, but whiners can't be choosers. Good job, bro! Also if you're not a dude, good job sister, and all you did a great job :)

[@Pakistani152]

So far starship is not at all a safe vehicle which can transport humans to the moon

[@jackprier7727]

But they caught a hollow empty tube that one time--SO Close-

[@leparfumdugrosboss4216]

So far it hasn't even taken a gram of payload to orbit.

[@micheljansen85]

Falcon 9 wasnt either, untill it was. So yeah good comment..

[@ryelor123]

The real world isn't like in Star Trek where you can have replicators make things that are perfect.

[@geoffturner4372]

Yeah, it's almost like it's a prototype...

[@BPJJohn]

Remember the Saturn V was guided by a laser mounted in the Ground so any systems similar to that if it were mounted to the Tower or Ground will need to be reviewed.

[@TheEvilmooseofdoom]

To what do you refer?

[@DexterBlackwell]

Megallia did have spikes on him SpaceX should cover the antenna 😂😂😂yooooo duh

[@VikasLohia]

Wow. Look at how FAA changed its tone. What changed😂😂

[@Growwithcoachsol]

Ccp China paying attention closely

[@sirpibble]

Where does the money for this come from

[@TheEvilmooseofdoom]

They have some private investment, the F9 business is booming but Starlink is expected to fund the lions share of their future ambitions.

[@togfanatic3781]

they come from me . i bought starlink last week . my internet is now fast

[@MKSense1]

Ohh, you Americans . Where the money comes from ? you the customers. Is not Corporate America a real fact?.

[@marknorman1273]

❤

[@trapjohnson]

Holy CHANGE OF HEART FAA Alright!!!

[@TheEvilmooseofdoom]

That or the paperwork is finally catching up.

[@Rayden440]

They're afraid now that Musk is advising Trump LOL.

[@Steve-f1h8x]

I noticed you left out SLS in your description. Seems like an important omission for news about Artemis & manned space flight.

[@JarppaGuru]

lets remember starship only landed once and booster land manu times and once grab (easy part). there ill no moon 2024 not even mars. its delayed decade once again

[@javiervasquez29]

Space X needs to build 2 more towers and increase productivity in number of ships if they want to launch 2 ships mer month.

[@Fighter4Street]

If they are catching them and reusing them, then why the increase in productivity of ships?

[@TheEvilmooseofdoom]

They will be building a LOT more infrastructure to meet their ambitions.

[@togfanatic3781]

yea sure . btw are you an aerospace engineer perhaps ?

[@florianvanbondoc3539]

this is the first launch i've seen live, so amazing to see this rapid advancements (also china and india)

[@leylayorulmaz6665]

⚜️🔷🌼🌹🟪💥

[@The-KP]

"FSD is not yet available for your vehicle" 😅

[@dominicestebanrice7460]

A Rubber Ducky antenna from Fairview Microwave is like $5....I think SpaceX can afford that.

[@michaelreid2329]

I wonder if SpaceX will reinforce the ship and Booster to allow it to survive a water landing?

[@swineapplebbq6485]

Elno needs caption... ceep Ozeans clean

[@ryelor123]

You really have to feel sorry for the FAA because no matter what they do or approve, there will always be a lot of companies that will be angry with them. Considering that the rocket's fundamental design and landing mechanism have been proven to work, plenty of other companies at home and abroad are furious that SpaceX can't be held back for them to catch up. I don't think people really understand the true significance of flight 5 in the industry. It proved that catching a booster, hitherto only theoretical was, in fact, possible. There's going to be a massive investment and even bubble forming in the rocketry industry due to everyone wanting to build their own versions of Starship.

[@patrickmaloney1810]

President-elect was in the area and it was probably aborted for his safety.

[@davidwebb4904]

Need to take off from one tower, land on the other.

[@blondegirlsezthis8798]

Elon tanked it after Trump said he wanted 40 percent of every landing he attends

[@andrevisser7542]

That is how the Demonrats operate and Elon didn't want to play along, the reason why they tried to stop everything he tried to do. Things are going to change now.

[@tortysoft]

The narration voice is very dull. Is that because it is AI? Great images and content.

[@iretthrune]

First 😎

[@johnnyb8629]

My my my, how the FAA suddenly becomes very accommodating now that the regime has changed. People are in fear of their jobs. FAA gets down on their knees, and Elon is unzips, pulls it out, and someone begins to choke.

[@jackprier7727]

Wait-now this sets back our plan to cower in a tiny freezing cave on Mars and drink recycled urine?

[@literallyturbo]

What are you yapping about mars barely has caves and it’s not hard to make a small habitat

[@rtz549]

Need to keep 2 or 3 ships ready for flight at all time. Too much time passes between launches. Months turn into years.

[@togfanatic3781]

if it thats simple . they need to get approval of faa while simultaneously updating the ship each flight . having 3 of the same capability would be meaningless .

[@Pay_attention_Benny]

The money used should have been invested in Space planes, would have been to Mars and back by now

[@mattmiller220]

Looks like a failure. 🤷‍♂️

[@YoloThunder69]

looks like you dont know what a test is 🤷

[@togfanatic3781]

what ? it doesnt look like you man

[@niyazzmoithu20]

exaclty.​@@YoloThunder69

[@fadate7292]

Legs !