SpaceX's latest Starship test flight ends with another explosion
Brownsville (US), Mar 7 (AP): Nearly two months after an explosion sent flaming debris raining down on the Turks and Caicos, SpaceX launched another mammoth Starship rocket on Thursday, but lost contact minutes into the test flight as the spacecraft came tumbling down and broke apart.
This time, wreckage from the latest explosion was seen streaming from the skies over Florida. It was not immediately known whether the spacecraft's self-destruct system had kicked in to blow it up.
The 403-foot (123-meter) rocket blasted off from Texas. SpaceX caught the first-stage booster back at the pad with giant mechanical arms, but engines on the spacecraft on top started shutting down as it streaked eastward for what was supposed to be a controlled entry over the Indian Ocean, half a world away. Contact was lost as the spacecraft went into an out-of-control spin.
Starship reached nearly 90 miles (150 kilometers) in altitude before trouble struck and before four mock satellites could be deployed. It was not immediately clear where it came down, but images of flaming debris were captured from Florida, including near Cape Canaveral, and posted online.
The space-skimming flight was supposed to last an hour.
“Unfortunately this happened last time too, so we have some practice at this now,” SpaceX flight commentator Dan Huot said from the launch site.
SpaceX later confirmed that the spacecraft experienced “a rapid unscheduled disassembly" during the ascent engine firing. "Our team immediately began coordination with safety officials to implement pre-planned contingency responses,” the company said in a statement posted online.
Starship didn't make it quite as high or as far as last time.
NASA has booked Starship to land its astronauts on the moon later this decade. SpaceX's Elon Musk is aiming for Mars with Starship, the world's biggest and most powerful rocket.
Like last time, Starship had mock satellites to release once the craft reached space on this eighth test flight as a practice for future missions. They resembled SpaceX's Starlink internet satellites, thousands of which currently orbit Earth, and were meant to fall back down following their brief taste of space.
Starship's flaps, computers and fuel system were redesigned in preparation for the next big step: returning the spacecraft to the launch site just like the booster.
During the last demo, SpaceX captured the booster at the launch pad, but the spacecraft blew up several minutes later over the Atlantic. No injuries or major damage were reported.
According to an investigation that remains ongoing, leaking fuel triggered a series of fires that shut down the spacecraft's engines. The on-board self-destruct system kicked in as planned.
SpaceX said it made several improvements to the spacecraft following the accident, and the Federal Aviation Administration recently cleared Starship once more for launch.
Starships soar out of the southernmost tip of Texas near the Mexican border. SpaceX is building another Starship complex at Cape Canaveral, home to the company's smaller Falcon rockets that ferry astronauts and satellites to orbit.
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T20 WC star Samson named ICC Men's Player of the Month for March
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Dubai (PTI): India opener Sanju Samson was on Tuesday named ICC Men's Player of the Month for March, capping a stellar run that saw him play a defining role in the team's triumphant T20 World Cup campaign.
Samson did not get to play in the early part of the tournament but was the standout performer in the big games towards the end and helped India retain the title.
His latest honour also extends a unique streak, with players from different countries winning the award over the past five months including South Africa's Simon Harmer, Australia's Mitchell Starc, New Zealand's Daryl Mitchell and Pakistan's Sahibzada Farhan.
"Winning the ICC Player of the Month award is an incredible feeling, especially as it comes during what has been the most unforgettable phase of my cricketing journey. Playing a part in India's triumph at the Men's T20 World Cup was truly a dream realised, and it took some time for the magnitude of that moment to fully sink in," Samson said.
"This is an exciting era for Indian cricket, with immense talent across the board. I feel grateful for the opportunities I've received, and for the trust and support from my team-mates and coaching staff that have allowed me to perform at my best."
Not a regular part of the playing XI in the initial stages of the tournament, Samson was eventually called up for India's must-win Super 8 fixtures. After starting off with 24 against Zimbabwe, he picked form and didn't look back.
The opener missed out on a century against the West Indies by just three runs, but his attacking 97 not out set up India's spot in the semifinal.
A blistering 89 against England at the Wankhede helped India to 253 for 7, and the target proved elusive for the English who missed out by seven runs on March 5.
An equally amazing 89 was churned out during India's successful title defence in Ahmedabad, securing a 96-run win.
In the three crucial T20Is he was a part of in March, Samson notched up 275 runs at an astonishing average of 137.50 and a stunning strike rate of 199.27.
This is the first time that Samson has secured an ICC Men's Player of the Month honour.
New Zealand captain Melie Kerr won the women's honour for the third time, after an outstanding series against Zimbabwe and South Africa.
Taking over the white-ball teams from Sophie Devine, Kerr's captaincy seemed to have brought out the best in her with both the ball and the bat. In the Zimbabwe ODI series, she managed to snap 16 wickets in just three matches, including her career-best figures of 7/34.
Additionally, she also contributed with the bat, being the third highest run-scorer in the ODIs, scoring 140 runs across three games with an average of 46.67 in the counting month.
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