By Jo Nova
Ponder the remarkable physics
SpaceX just launched Starship Flight Test 7. As Elon Musk says “Atmospheric reentry speed is more than twice as fast as a bullet from an assault rifle and this is the largest flying object ever made“. Yet they still manage a perfect catch. The top speed on the return of the booster was 4,135 km/h. It went to space and back in just 7 minutes, reaching 90 km up.
The unmanned test rocket though, wasn’t so lucky, as SpaceX described it, suffering a ‘rapid unscheduled disassembly during its ascent’
Musk also says: You can see the much higher propellant mass fraction of the new ship design by the percentage of rocket that is frosty. As the rocket lifts off, it is so powerful it appears to create the weather around it almost, tearing through the atmosphere.
One commenter said SpaceX will change the way we fly… Elon said “Yes”.
Imagine being able to fly anywhere in the world in under an hour…
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) January 17, 2025
…
SpaceX Earth to Earth Transport will enable:
LOS ANGELES TO NEW YORK 5 hours, 25 min —> 25 […]
via JoNova
January 17, 2025 at 01:28PM
Iowa Climate Science Education 