Camera gets Hit By SpaceX Superheavy/Starship Launch Plume

Here is the view from our Hoop 2 solar streaming in the last moments before this camera was destroyed on 4/20/23.
If you want to help us replace the camera, our paypal is [e-mail]. Cheers! One more step towards Mars.

[@EpicSpaceflight]

This is a recovered video from one of our Hoop 2 cameras. The camera was in pieces and the SD card was recovered.

[@Mobius3c273]

Sorry to hear you lost your camera 😢

[@algodoomarbleracing]

Unfortunately, that was expected since it was very close to the launchpad.

[@mikeomolt4485]

Shame. Had camera survived, would make a great ad, endorsement deals, get paid to use 'em.

[@browndogprospecting3141]

Whoops ... !!!

[@LordFalconsword]

So your camera and NSF's car were in about the same situation. I don't understand why they put a car there instead of some kind of metal stand or framework.

[@renkenbw]

Wow! You can easily see the moment the pad broke apart... The plume changes from mostly smoke, to clearly dirt, followed almost instantly with concrete. Amazing! The dirt cloud comes busting out right at 31 seconds into the video!

[@Mosern1977]

Yes, the pad hold for quite a while. But the sustained blast eventually cause the collapse. Which is good news in my opinion, a bit better protection and it should survive.

[@patrickrijkee]

@@Mosern1977 The engines start at a low throttle. The pad didn't break from sustained blast, it broke from the throttle up. They will have no choice but to install a proper flame diverter and deluge system. Concrete will not withstand this.

[@boobtubeakatv1296]

It's like a bomb goes off and concrete isn't gonna last very long... Definitely a flame & debis channel has to be installed as well as a water deluge... You'd think the them ''smart'' (😂) engineers would have known that with 39 engines somethings gonna happen 😅

[@u1zha]

​@@patrickrijkee The concrete apparently had no rebar (only in the bracing beams) The plating they're putting up will do just fine, for this installation. I think the real launch cadence they're looking forward to might work best with an ocean platform anyway... No closures of beaches and roads

[@BillClinton228]

Wow, it takes a real genius to accomplish this... fantastic, really is amazing, absolutely genius, I can't believe my eyes, my mind is absolutely blown by this concept of something with force kicking dirt up in the air... wow, just wow.

[@johnmahnke7359]

Absolutely mental. That rocket blew apart reinforced concrete like it was styrofoam. It's actually pretty incredible Starship got as high as it did, considering the damage it surely must've taken at liftoff

[@u1zha]

Apparently the slab wasn't even reinforced, was it? The pictures show rebar remains from the vaporized bracing beam, but not sure the rest of the slab was as seriously built.

[@GrapeFlavoredAntifreeze]

@@u1zha There have been a lot of pictures taken of chunks that flew hundreds of feet with rebar still embedded in them so I would take at at least some of the concrete below the launch pad was reinforced

[@saeedboroomand830]

It is not incredible, just shows how bad the design was. This is no a rocket science! However the design team are not stupid…

[@BibboRacing96]

So here's why the motors didn't fire?

[@TrevorSachko]

@@saeedboroomand830 Well the video clearly shows they are.

[@marzchart591]

R.I.P. all the cameras. very good footage thank you.

[@AlistairBalister]

lol so true.. there are dozens of videos of cameras gettin taken out

[@miguelcedeno4843]

Q P D O

[@utkarshsingh7757]

But cameraman never dies.

[@alainblazit9504]

And the car.

[@miguelcedeno4843]

@@alainblazit9504 boom shaka laca car

[@TheNitroG1]

0:36 Half expected to see "Game Over" super imposed over the footage. That camera died a video game death in real life.

[@pcmaster888]

0:38 VLC Media Player has crashed.

[@peterhagan8454]

thank goodness the cone survived

[@milehiguy4640]

It DID fall over though! (I think we're gunna need a bigger come)

[@dhmsimons]

you can clearly see the concrete held up for 10 seconds. First dustcloud looks clean after engine start at 0:21. Then from 0:31 another type of dustcloud appears, full of darker material and rocks.

[@TheStealthbob]

I believe they started the engines at reduced thrust first, once all good they opened them up and then the damaged started. I also saw that they released the hold-down clamps at ignition, its stayed on the mount until the TWR exceeded past 1.0.

[@Sagan_Starborn]

Likely the ignition power was just above flameout, then when takeoff power was delivered, the destruction began

[@algodoomarbleracing]

The pink is because the IR filter was gone.

[@Suzucka_]

Yes!

[@spray_cheese]

Why were they using IR? Even in the shots where it wasn’t pink it appears like normal footage. I’m actually curious not challenging it

[@Codysdab]

Darn, I thought it was cos Starbase moved to Mars.

[@claudevieaul1465]

​@@spray_cheese IR is usually just heat, it isn't really visible to the human eye. And since this baby pumps out a fair bit of high temperature gases, an IR filter would indeed be necessary, lest the sensor gets overwhelmed by the exhausts rather than capturing anything else in view 😉👍

[@spray_cheese]

@M. S. yea that’s where I am as well even with the explanation. Im thinking it’s not an IR filter at all. More likely caused by sensor damage on the camera.

[@VanquishedAgain]

The more i see these videos the more i cant believe they just launched it like that, lol

[@Wayoutthere]

Yeeeeehaaaw! XD Brake shit fast, learn stuff fast.

[@artisticyeti22]

@Noxti! tell me you have no idea about this launch without telling me you have no idea about this launch

[@tomglynn8492]

@Noxti! The angle was done on purpose to make sure the tower wasn't damaged. The rocket was right on course just slightly slower till it lost too many engines. What else gave you the idea is wasn't under control. You know they blew it up themselves before you say the explosion next, which more proves my point.

[@badacconosu]

@Noxti! They are desperate for more funding, they need more investors etc. They aren't retarded they knew it won't hold

[@martinh88]

@@artisticyeti22 Without SAYING, not without TELLING ffs. Why do people never get this phrase correct?

[@leemarsh4473]

It’s amazing that those tall storage tanks didn’t get blown away.

[@hmcredfed1836]

what you see is a protectiv structure the tanks are hidden inside, atlest the methan and oxygen, the nitrogen has no extra shield i think (not as dangerous)

[@unitrader403]

@@hmcredfed1836 it has to do with temperature (insulation), not with how dangerous the stuff inside is. only the tank initially planned for water has no insulation over it, since the water is at ambient temperature

[@domxem5551]

Those guys are professional and they freaking know what they are doing, there is a simple reason why the tanks are so close….. take a guess, c’mon, tell me. Because I freaking don’t know

[@luudest]

I guess the tanks were not filled with any dangerous substances?

[@unitrader403]

@@luudest 3 Tanks filled with Liquid Oyxgen, 2 Tanks filled with Liquid Nitrogen, 2 Tanks filled with Water, and one is an unused shell (the one which has the worst damage). So nothing really dangerous but 5 Tanks contain stuff which is really, really cold.. there are also a few horizontal Tanks for the Liquid Methane next to the vertical Tanks. Though keep in mind that all these Tanks were used to fill the Rocket, so when it launched they should have been mostly empty because their content was pumped into the Rocket during the Countdown.

[@ehenri1438]

the most powerful rocket taking off from the parking lot

[@hmcredfed1836]

well the mars is not gonne have a launchpad so they rather get it done wothout ;) and much less gravity yes.

[@Ryan-wk7us]

There going to launch at Cosco next time

[@kelle500]

​@HMC RedFed Superheavy boosters will never be on Mars. Only the starship orbiter vehicle, which has a lot less engines. So this argument makes no sense.

[@JS45678]

The sheer amount of unfathomable power is felt through this captivating video; Thank You for sharing! 🚀😃👍

[@edwarddevlin8258]

This feels like the type of video that's going to get recommended to me in 14 years time

[@dragonslayer7814]

Must have taken some real guts to just stand there and record this without moving, nice job camera man 😹

[@happycanayjian1582]

I heard Chuck Norris has great footage from inside the blast pit. 💪🏼😜

[@MrVelociraptor75]

@@happycanayjian1582 I'm always impressed how he also managed to leap up ONTO the rocket and film Its ascent. Chuck is the best!

[@kirkdameron6341]

The photographer is filming that w a remote camera setup. No humans were inside 4 to 5 miles of the launch pad.

[@VoyagerEugen]

That is the same cameraman who filmed outer space, deep oceans and Earth core

[@MrVelociraptor75]

@@kirkdameron6341 you're missing the joke, methinks

[@FoxGaming00]

This is brilliant footage!

[@billyuan293]

The storage tanks are super heroes!

[@Emalo]

Fascinating but scary at the same time 😬👍

[@r4raced4doom2]

It's almost reminiscent of nuclear blast test footage from the 50's. Especially when the IR filer gets knocked off.

[@christopherbroms2508]

so that's what happened. I was wondering why it went red

[@HiddenKenshin]

@@christopherbroms2508 came looking for an explanation, then found it, then wanted to post exactly what you said :D

[@MrVelociraptor75]

haha, with the colour change on impact and all the debris, that looks like footage from the nuclear explosion tests back in the 50s. That's some power there Awesome footage!

[@minininjacowz]

tysm for recovering this

[@colinsoars5748]

When you watch this video you can see the moment that the concrete gave way. The cloud changes colour and there is suddenly debris in the cloud. Pretty cool stuff

[@MetaView7]

That blast is insane. I am surprised the tanks are still standing.

[@NeilLarsonsideshed]

Whoaaaaaa damn! That was crazy!

[@topsecret1837]

(You Died) meme fits perfectly here.

[@ESPkenner48]

got to love the red tint when diying

[@essay8634]

Love the cone flopping

[@ATMedia93]

Those cones worked well 👍🏻🚧

[@David-DK-Kerr]

Worth the shot!

[@gscott5778]

Interesting because you see the plume change color as the concrete starts breaking up and it goes from an orange/yellow to gray and then the bits and chunks of concrete start flying by and at the camera.

[@KG-ou4nm]

Great design of the launch blast diversion and water suspension system…opps forgot about that…lol

[@user-rc5px1hu9j]

Extraordinary launch❤❤❤

[@lousanto1054]

The pad clearly was not designed for this type of launch vehicle. NASA heavies like the STS, Saturn V, and SLS had elevated reinforced thick concrete pads where plumes were channeled into chambers, directing their outward firing. Furthermore, they use sound suppresion water systems to protect both the launch vehicle and the surrounding structure from acoustical shock waves to mitigate damage. This was learned mostly from the very early Saturn launches. When I first saw the Starship launch pad, I thought there would be no way that pad would hold up, but considering the small platform and size it did and impressive job staying intact as much as it did!

[@larrysmith6797]

A great analysis: kzbin.info/www/bejne/e6OnpomlorOXb68

[@HDHQDIRECT]

But the FSD....bruh

[@cyberyoyo7674]

Interesting how some of the trashed cameras - for instance Everyday Astronauts - had artifacting on the recordings before they were even hit. This one held up quite well.

[@ladraode9dedos409]

Brutal machine!

[@GabroPlayz]

Hi! I'm trying to make a video which features the first Starship launch from a lot of different angles. I just wanted to ask if I may use this footage to implement into my video. Many thanks

[@EpicSpaceflight]

Sure just please cite us in the video

[@GabroPlayz]

Of course I will

[@Order4627]

Having worked in Strength of Concrete research at Redland Technology I can say with my hand on my Heart, “That was inevitable “. A thermic Lance basically uses the same principle but with less heat than rocket engines. Launching from the moon will be easier when that day comes.

[@ankushsamadder9586]

The cameraman never dies

[@chrismackerdush7728]

That’s awesome

[@minxythemerciless]

The only rapid unscheduled disassembly in this mission was the launchpad concrete a few seconds after ignition. What happened in the sky later was a planned disassembly that took several seconds from destruction charge firing till the rocket actually disassembled

[@MrAlexdablock]

The pink Color change is probably from the infrared filter being damaged and displaced, Incase anyone is wondering. I know because Iv removed the IR filter from a digital camera before and this is what all the images looked like. IT could easily see the flashes from remotes and low light conditions though.

[@Duelky]

It looks like the pad didn't break apart until a good 5 seconds after the engines ignited. It would be interesting to see the pad as this was happening.

[@gregorysagegreene]

And Elon said that five seconds blasting was twice too long.

[@stoveguy2133]

Why no blast wall between storage tanks and pad?

[@shashwatnandeha3294]

Cameraman never dies hence proved 😎

[@hawaiidispenser]

Finally a tripod that wasn't a walmart special.

[@WX4GPS]

I wish the camera had a rapid responding temperature to see what kind of heat is generated from that distance.

[@WhiteUnicorn82]

I remember when I had a bbq in my bedroom. I was 8 and got in a lot of trouble. Turns out they aren't suitable for bedroom use. This clip reminds me of that.

[@yououtuber4176]

I cannot understand why nobody used some barrier, like bulletproof glass. Were these old cameras that needed a reason for replacement?

[@paulgreen9059]

Camera ends up looking down at a hazard cone? Where did you find the camera?

[@abhinashgarg9922]

Sponsored by VLC media player !!

[@PeacefulCountryLife]

🤣

[@007lutherking]

Lol

[@bobkoski3964]

Holy Shiite!! Its a good thing that they did not have a pad abort after six seconds of engine start, because I doubt the pedestal would have held the weight after that blast. That was a lot like watching a volcanic eruption up close.

[@u1zha]

The mount itself was on pile foundations, with rebar and metal sheathing. I doubt it was compromised. Not in 6 seconds. The exposed concrete slab (which wasn't even a monolithic slab? And lacked even reinforcement except for the bracing beams between piles) was completely undermined and launched into the air in smithereens. I believe that the deluge plate will do just fine... Unless they manage to somehow make it too piecemeal again and exhaust plume sends it cannonballing through the tank farm

[@RobertAdairWorkshop]

These guys could learn a thing or two from NASA.

[@proxr8ak]

The sheer violence of the thrust of that rocket is crazy!

[@JazzfireflyNZ]

How do those silos feel about all of this?

[@TheBonsaiZone]

Wow!

[@jasonzhang1983]

That is cool.

[@StrangeScaryNewEngland]

Good thing those safety cones were there

[@SongMom8]

Crazy!

[@WhatShallMyUsernameBe]

We must thank the camera man for risking his life

[@markbajek2541]

He transferred from the weather channel.

[@roddiener1235]

No blast pit, brilliant.

[@shawnstangeland3011]

Stunning incompetence thinking a flat concrete surface would withstand this.

[@u1zha]

Take a step back, recall that SpaceX have a track record innovating on many fronts to find cheaper and simpler solutions than government space programs consider standard. They also said they considered the static fire outcome and they did full thrust simulations of Fondag, where do you call incompetence? Simulations work within certain assumptions. New materials, new thrust ranges, it's naive to just trust in virtual reality extrapolations. Things need to be tested in real world. Test to destruction is a thing.

[@akitadakid6326]

This is very good advertising for those cones

[@squirrelsinjacket1804]

Why did SpaceX put everything so close together? Seems reasonable that the launch pad should be placed further out from the critical infrastructure.

[@u1zha]

On one hand, yes, on the other hand, this is called rapid prototyping and they optimize budget way differently than government space program money sinks. Not cheap to find big space to snap up for this sort of mildly dangerous pastimes. I suspect is playing a good psychological game, having things so close including Starhopper. The basic instinct tells SpaceX reliability engineering corps to bring their best game.

[@larrysmith6797]

@@u1zha Uldis, you're stupider than Space-X. Want to save money and time? Start with the proven Saturn V and Pad 39A in 1969.

[@NavidIsANoob]

@@u1zha Too bad they seemingly didn't invite the launchpad reliability corps.

[@RealAndySkibba]

Heck of a camera view.

[@kareemhawari3096]

I can only imagine the Toy Story cast hiding under the cones 😂

[@CEOELONMUSKSPACE_X]

Thanks for being a great fan ❤️

[@apryason]

Next time, dig an exhaust trench. Spectacular video!

[@wendycarothers]

Omg that's so friggin cool

[@ShockwaveAviation]

HOLY FUCK. WHAT A LAUNCH

[@ashemgold]

Yeah, that was pretty violent. I don't think you needed an engineering or aerospace degree to have predicted the need for flame/thrust diversion. But, then South Padre Island may have been in Mexico today.

[@nixenvines007]

Congratulations you got new update of pink filter.

[@ryandugal]

Nice

[@blueskunk9163]

They must have a budget line item for replacing parking lot cones.

[@warrenstone8538]

WOW that is extreme

[@3bluto]

Its incredible that engineers got this so, so wrong, it was no where near as robust as it needed to be, I mean like no where near! And why were those tanks so close to the pad??? Insane!

[@tm502010]

The problem is… they had so much prior warning! Their own test fires were enough to heavily damage the launch structure. What would a full scale launch do? Decades of launch pad data already exists. It’s been around since the 60’s!

[@andreabindolini7452]

Seems like they intentionally wanted the launch to be a total disaster.

[@timorieseler276]

You forgot the "wasted" overlay... 😂

[@TheLastLoad]

Is the debris normal? Kinda seems like the launchpad needs some rethinking. Also are they at all concerned about the plumes in general(in terms of negative impact and if there’s some way to collect/disperse them better)?

[@andreabindolini7452]

No. Concrete debris are not normal. I think it is evident. The launchpad need to be a real launchpad, not a vaguely reinforced parking lot.

[@RocketPal]

@@andreabindolini7452 Lmao, what parking lot? It is a proper concrete surface.

[@andreabindolini7452]

​@@RocketPal Well, we've seen it. SpaceX fanboy.

[@user-xn1cz8bm2x]

The fantastic !

[@BLKBRDD]

Like the red when you die in cod

[@demef758]

You get so used to hearing the countdown ... "10, 9, 8, 7... " followed by the muffled roar of the engines. This short video demonstrates what it really sounds like. No human voice, loud hissing sounds, and then this massive roar. And now flying chunks of concrete. That's what a few million pounds of thrust sounds like, eh?

[@BaffinSailor]

Thank goodness for them safety cones. If it wasn’t for them cones I don’t know what would of happened….

[@ecurb10]

The most powerful rocket in the world, blasting straight onto concrete....what did they think would happen?

[@larrysmith6797]

Doesn't matter when millions of Musk fans have their faces shoved into Elon's crotch.

[@RocketPal]

The water cooled steel plate was already in construction at the time. They knew that bare flat concrete wasnt gonna do it. But they went for the flight thinking it could make through a single launch.

[@mitrefak6725]

wow and it it managed to topple the Traffic cone whoa

[@JAXXNCREATED]

this angle is fucking sick!

[@Dixsons]

yall must have some good janitors

[@uhhmActually]

"How did you died" "I died from a star ship" The star ship : *let me know next move ._.

[@iamjerryliu]

Wow

[@areareare9953]

I said a prayer for the cone. Don't know if it will help, but it can't hinder. Poor little cone.

[@TheMrBitsy]

You don't know if it will help? What did you expect to happen, a big hand with a filter on it to stop the debris?

[@gasaholic47]

No flame trench. Wonder who’s bright idea that was to exclude it?

[@lukemonsterg4819]

before this video played, I got an ad of people trying to get the last presidential suite available, by arguing over how much power they have in a video game.

[@pravinpalve3771]

RAW POWER

[@charliewhiskey6542]

Imagine the view had there been an unplanned rapid disassembly event on the pad.

[@ianwalton284]

Well that was mostly peaceful.

[@AbdulHafeez-cq6oo]

it seems that launching pad wad poorly designed and the surrounding area was not properly protected there is some element of negligence and compromise in this launch

[@Telencephelon]

How did the pipes survive?

[@shrivatsanv4012]

How far was the camera ?

[@nigelsmith721]

Apparently most of the launch pad concrete travelled farther than the rocket itself.

[@Radionut]

I would pay $25 shipped for the smallest piece of concrete from that disaster. That was spectacular I love it

[@CEOELONMUSKSPACE_X]

Thanks for being a great fan ❤️

[@lulutileguy]

energy unleashed

[@Moltenbramley]

That’ll be an interesting insurance claim for sure.

[@nigelharris175]

Those poor traffic cones!!! 😂