SpaceX Starship Flight 7 explodes and second booster catch LIVE from Starbase, TX!

[@lucidmoses]

Man you were the one to watch today. You got video of the starship incident out while the other bigger streamers closed their streams still not knowing well after it happened. Kudos man.

[@Whataboutit]

🙏 Team effort!

[@parose1457]

You could see something peeling off early in the flight. In the upper left corner of the frame showing the ship before the booster separation.

[@nickv.g4380]

Impressive but also Expensive fireworks!

[@羽刃-z3p]

3:58:51 In my opinion, it may not be a tape or something. Just picture how soft a tape is. The elasticity is more likely coming from an iron sheet. And considering how strong the wind is, it would be reasonable for it to flap widely and rapidly.

[@MajikPPMan]

I was there on the beach today! It was the most incredible thing I've ever seen!!

[@nicholas_james]

Great job spotting that flap flame.

[@chrissysmith4994]

by far the best footage and knowledge

[@parkercf8953]

if you watch the methane levels before telemetry loss, it looks like it has a methane leak which could be the fire in the hinge, then spreading into the tank and exploding

[@falcon7350]

the motor that went offline well be the down comer that didn't hold up. as the fuel is mixed in the tanks each motor goes offline and i think the fts ending it

[@vondrous84]

Great observation.

[@jaseastroboy9240]

The fire visible at the flap hinge may have caused a rupture of the methane tank and the rapid loss of methane. But a methane leak by itself shouldn't have caused an explosion. There wouldn't have been much atmospheric oxygen at that altitude and the oxygen gauge didn't show a drop in level like the methane tank. Methane won't explode all by itself. So if we eliminate the oxygen tank as a source of oxidiser for an explosion it makes the flight termination system the likely cause of the explosion. It will explode without the need for either atmospheric or liquid oxygen. With the methane tank ruptured due to the fire, the depressurisation of the methane fuel could have caused engines to destabilise and begin shutting down. The engines unfortunately didn't shut down all at once or in a balanced manner. Causing the ship to experience increasing levels of thrust imbalance with each engine failure. The flight termination would have likely triggered when the thrust imbalance became unmanageable. When the first engine went out, the flight control would have gimballed the centre three engines to maintain thrust balance. This lasted for several seconds but as additional engines failed, increasing the thrust imbalance, combined with less gimballing engines available to counteract the imbalance failure was inevitable. At that point, either the flight control system admitted defeat and signalled the FTS to activate or the FTS independently detected the non-nominal situation and activated. It would be interesting to get a precise time for the observed explosion to see how long after the first engine failed the explosion occurred. If there was a relatively long time between the first engine failure and the explosion then it makes a mission control initiation of the FTS a third, yet less likely possibility.

[@jaseastroboy9240]

Another thought, the colour of the explosion. If there was a huge loss of methane prior to the explosion then the explosion should have been oxygen rich rather than an even mix of methane and oxygen. Any lost methane would have been left in the starship's wake and there would have been almost no oxygen for that methane to burn let alone explode. Leading to the starship having far more oxygen onboard than methane and creating a oxygen rich explosion. Would that have caused a difference in the temperature of the flame and a noticeable or measurable difference in the colour of the light from the explosion? Like the light from an oxy-acetylene torch which varies in brightness and colour as you increase or decrease the oxygen to acetylene ratio. This may tell us if there was a mixing of methane in the LOX tank due to a downcomer failure or if the methane had been lost overboard due to the methane tank itself failing. I think that if there had been a failure of the downcomer then as the methane tank emptied as indicated by the telemetry then the LOX tank should have registered an increase in fuel level, the oxygen plus the methane. I did not see any change in the oxygen gauge, at least nothing on the level of the change shown on the methane gauge.

[@milehigheffects]

@@jaseastroboy9240Gosh dang man, you using Chat GPT or just a smarty pants? Either way, I commend you for your analysis, sir!

[@alveydoug]

Salem, Oregon USA (Almost In your “backyard”; so great to hear from the International viewers!)

[@conormacnessa7723]

Ireland 🇮🇪. Drogheda here. I love it.

[@kidanehaddish]

I am waching you from east africa. "FROM TIGRAY ethiopa as i always do and thank you🙏🙏🙏 b/s i see this for the benefit of human bieng in general

[@Whataboutit]

Thank you!!!🙏 ❤️

[@straighttalk2069]

Flames were seen shooting out a hinge on the rear flaps indicating an internal fire before the R.U.D.

[@gardencornrobber]

Ya have to see the fireworks of the RUD of the starship. Beautiful

[@jaseastroboy9240]

As the Starship engines cutout the methane fuel level dropped rapidly. Likely the methane tank ruptured causing fuel delivery issues that caused the engines to rapidly shutdown.

[@alanm8932]

I watched this live with a _competitor_ on KZbin. I'm reviewing your video a couple of days after the event. I like what I'm seeing & will watch the next launch with you. Maybe I'll have the SpaceX feed on another device, so I can rewind that when I want, while WAI continues live.

[@Whataboutit]

Happy to have you on board! ❤️

[@jamesmorton7881]

YES ! Great balls of FIRE. ❤❤

[@Crowtalking]

I love how you noticed the duct tape flapping in the wind. Great sleuthing Felix!

[@stanislouse4168]

EVERYBODY saw that!

[@marklee1462]

incredible even with the rud. The launch and the catch...

[@drwine2]

Welcome Felix from North Carolina

[@jonlivingstone]

You are so much better than NBC! ❤

[@joem.2983]

Yerington, Nevada, USA

[@deanj4460]

Awesome job Felix as usual

[@WildoTheRubberFist]

launch is @ 3:39:00

[@Chuck8541]

At about 3:40:35 of your video (not sure what time that is on SpaceX's video) about halfway up the left side of the stream, you can see skin peeling off of Starship just after the dude gives the call about being supersonic. I wonder if that's what led to SN-33's breakup.

[@InsightGlobal365]

I'm watching the replay, thank you so muchh. I really like it

[@TheDrunkenWhaler]

03:39:33 10 seconds countdown

[@stevehoward3731]

Hello from rochford Essex 🇬🇧

[@jw5895]

wow that was awesome to watch, a bit of a hiccup with the ship but everything else - wow

[@executivesteps]

That may be the strangest use of the word hiccup ever!

[@codyman242002]

Thanks Felix

[@mpwieland]

all good,can hear you

[@kurobara9001]

3:47:12 At flight T+7:53 the video feed shows sparks and maybe flames in the actuator of the flap.

[@oconsd]

@@kurobara9001 it took me a few watches on my phone to pick it out, but yes, in the rear mechanism of the flap actuator you can see something flaky and sparky happening

[@TheGratefulDane]

Great spot

[@vanodne]

Totally true! Watch at 1/4 speed

[@Chuck8541]

Also, at 3:40:35 of this stream - just after the supersonic callout - you can see Starship's skin peeling about halfway up the left side of the screen. It just slowly got bigger and bigger. lol Oh well, they'll learn a lot from this. There was a lot of experimental stuff going on this flight.

[@Sceuxm]

It can’t be fire there is no air but I do think something is kinda burning no smoke tho cause 20000 kmph

[@bf8088]

Good luck Starship !!!!!!!

[@Paradiselounge3366]

The world is learning together!

[@michael2782]

Great WAI final few minutes after the catch. I'll bet the video and comments at the end will turn out to be right on. Hopefully the telemetry will tell SpaceX the real story so that corrections can be made.

[@newspace.usa.01]

You're miles ahead of NBC-absolutely fantastic!

[@skunkface]

I am watching the replay. Good job.

[@evantspurrell]

the tracks sick

[@algumb200]

AL Gumb - Laguna Beach, CA😊

[@RedPixel2023]

That 03:42:51 Earth shot was so clear from space. SpaceX 2.0 ship catch and the goosebumps is more intense!

[@michaelhagin713]

@Whataboutit, Felix, if you look at the footage @ T+00:00:42 along the very left edge of the footage. You will see what looks like some form fabric/plastic cover start to flap around during the initial take off. That is more then likely the hole that you are referring to later in the launch cycle.

[@chrisjwilliams279]

NonSung, Nakhon Ratchasima, Thailand

[@donporter8432]

Wang nam yen Thailand

[@shakes525]

5:33:38 what is that flying in from the left?!

[@deyanmohamed]

most likely a drone, the trail is probably due to shutter speed of camera, otherwise idk what could cause a drone to leave such a trail (unless it's fuel powered? ;D)

[@shakes525]

@@deyanmohamed I was thinking drone by the way it moved. The trail tripped me out tho! 😆

[@thecaptainsunchained]

iron man?

[@thecaptainsunchained]

protoss probe?

[@mattsparks5957]

That seems a little freaky

[@cebuanasmith7340]

Well Done! 😊😊😊

[@MrCountrycuz]

Augusta, Georgia

[@Overmotor]

great stream Felix

[@Whataboutit]

❤️🙏

[@alanm8932]

3:46:45 it would be nice to know how close that was to the touchdown point of the previous catch. (How far out along the catch arms it was caught). It looks like it could be within inches rather than feet of the flight 5 catch.

[@ploppill34]

nice👍

[@deanj4460]

Yellow from Monroe, Michigan

[@Bademester]

What a fan boy!

[@mpwieland]

Cebu, Philippines, MALAPASCUA Island

[@air-drive]

As an astronaut I would like the ship to survive the booster is secondary to the altimate success.

[@waxore1142]

it was way too windy. holly crap it took off fast this time. that was definitely sheet metal flapping in the insane wind speed. if it was tape it would be folded over flat from the speed.

[@pascalmerlette5298]

J'habite à Reims en France.

[@Glorybast84]

Yea. The leak was very visible just before separation

[@adamlook798]

Success + Failure = Back2Work

[@thekadend]

The timestamps from the video description are really messed up on the video. 2 seconds in is marked as lift off.

[@Whataboutit]

Thank you for bringing it up! I’ll correct it in the morning!

[@Nexando]

5:46:44 to 5:47:00 What is that drone-meteor? seen from the tower, going to the left of the screen?

[@joer.4888]

Tarpon Springs,Florida

[@rebeltuba9422]

Have you noticed on the left side of the screen something loose and flapping in the black area? Right about the 3:40:25 mark. Plus was the explosion from an onboard fire or was it the self-destruct charges?

[@Trevordotdee]

Oh yea

[@vanodne]

Self destruct after loss of the last gimballing engine

[@Trevordotdee]

@@vanodne where did u find that?

[@vanodne]

@@Trevordotdee Just necessity since only the three center engines gimbal. Once the last gimballing engine was gone the ship was not controllable. Scott Manley's most recent vid agrees. Apparently several minutes passed between engine shutdown and explosion so it clearly wasn't a exploding engine RUD.

[@Trevordotdee]

@ oh…

[@gbbenner9382]

Thanks for your all hard work and dedication man 🫡

[@Whataboutit]

Always ❤️

[@pepsitwsit]

3:40:00 for the blast off

[@adamclement149]

Sherman, TX

[@dennisyoung1575]

Celina, Texas

[@glenysrice9187]

Melbourne, Australia

[@robertboeckmann1111]

Felix I saw something looking like a piece of string flapping around on the way up from the very beginning of launch. It looks like it might be the same place you are suggesting there may be a hole in the ship’s hull

[@thomaslovelace3518]

Washington State here

[@damagedathecore7216]

🚀❤ Thank you, Felix, Jonathan and everyone on the WAI team! 🙏

[@Whataboutit]

❤️

[@tonypressley2950]

Gadsden, AL

[@TurkeyJoe]

Despite the loss of Starship, it's spectacular that they are able to maneuver the giant heavy booster right back into the catch arms with such precision...To quote a great poet; "I mean, they're clever. You've got to give them that. The Pyramids, skyscrapers, phantom jets, the Great Wall of China. That's all some pretty impressive shit . . . for a bunch of monkeys."

[@Ppeace124]

Santa Barbara. Been enjoying the Vandenberg launches, really cool nighttime Visuals…Wow!!!

[@alanm8932]

5:27:10 they appear to have lowered the booster back onto the launch platform. Presumably for security against it swinging around in the wind, overnight. The booster is going to need to be moved in/out along the catch arms, so the base of the booster is aligned with the launch platform clamps. Anyone know how that's done? I'm thinking perhaps the arm surface the booster is resting on might be able to move in/out along the arms. (With hydraulic actuators). That would probably not have a full range of movement though. (e.g. booster caught near the tips of the arms). Do they slide/drag the booster catch points along the surface of the arms. I wouldn't think they would want to do that. They could possibly just pull the base of the booster into position and then slowly lower the catch arms. At some point though the booster is going to suddenly swing to its upright position. Maybe the arms can squeeze the booster a bit to control that swing or they could attach a cable/winch to the top of the booster to control it. The catch location along the arms looks quite close to the location on the flight 5 catch so they probably won't need to move anything very much, to lower the booster onto the platform.

[@Glorybast84]

I dont understand. Why would they lunch with a tear in the starship. I saw it before the lunch or during the ascent, so it was there before launch.

[@mikem1457]

I can't. Seriously. An effing ad every minute. F YT. Good catch. Crawled to get the important stuff. Guess I got up on the wrong side of life again today.

[@DAVIDWATERBURY]

The commercials every few minutes killed the vibe completely

[@BrandoniousCast]

@@DAVIDWATERBURY don't be cheap and get premium. No worries then

[@noneofyourbeeswax01]

Is there no end to the uses of Gaffa Tape? Apparently it can even be used to patch up a Starship!

[@Grubbbee]

Well.. his kind of mishap was always one possible outcome, they'll just review if they took all the precautions they could.... but they will have to know the root cause before they can fly again I assume.

[@garyeasdale1004]

Oh. Monster like🍾 🍻

[@mal38dimi]

Why does the Starship look black in some videos and white in the launch video?

[@Sceuxm]

@@mal38dimi lighting I guess it is made of steel and the black is probably the heat shields

[@chipmiller9074]

Florida

[@samsebvlogs]

It may not only be a ducktape, as there is none, it could be metal, and may behave that way at that speeds.

[@thomasmaxwell9420]

Acapulco

[@67leftbehind]

I was watching that and wondering early in the launch.

[@ApteraEV2024]

3:43:47 skip??

[@MarkSipes-r3z]

Pennsylvania

[@alteredchallenge9318]

Who did the time stamping.

[@williamwillaims]

Does anyone know what time I should check in for east coast Australia?

[@joostklitsie5206]

What the hell is up with the 1 commercial per minute?

[@hummingpylon]

3:44:15 Those flat earthers are crying 😭

[@philippemartin8913]

maybe you can squeeze a couple of commercials if you try! good show!

[@MDSBock]

Felix don't talk when the commentators are trying to explain what's going on with starship...

[@dagloa1929]

Schaue das Video im Nachhinein an, warum bekomme ich alle 2 Minuten Werbung von KZbin angezeigt? 😢

[@rogerlonghorn4530]

Kennewick Washington

[@jc7906]

3:44:07 at 4 : 55 you can see what might look like the first little spark or flash in that hinge

[@JamesBlanton-w2d]

Louisville

[@lightdark00]

Fix the time codes that they all relate to the video please

[@Locuste]

i am sure they have mores there was 30 cameras.....

[@HarryOttele]

StarShip will now have a harder time for human launches. Space X will not be able to retire Crew Dragon. StarShip will launched and Dragon be a taxi for the Crew. Space X may need to build bigger Crew Dragon #14, for a crew of 12. A dragon #15 needs to with air lock and in space repairs, with a crew of 6. This may push back the de-orbiting of the ISS and StarShip space Lab.

[@ricardogcbr1676]

Is it?

[@YosefLevi-5564]

Hi Feliks from israel

[@jackjordan7691]

Oregon

[@Locuste]

maybe a Chinese scrambler ship in indians sea who knows