By Jo Nova
Ponder the remarkable physics
SpaceX just launched Starship Flight Test 7. As Elon Musk says about the booster section: “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’.
The launch itself is a spectacle of raw power. As the rocket lifts off, it is so powerful it appears to create the weather around it almost, tearing through the atmosphere. Elon explains: “You can see the much higher propellant mass fraction of the new ship design by the percentage of rocket that is frosty.”
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…
SpaceX Earth to Earth Transport will enable:
LOS ANGELES TO NEW YORK
5 hours, 25 min —> 25 minBANGKOK TO DUBAI
6 hours, 25 min —> 27 minTOKYO TO SINGAPORE
7 hours, 10 min —> 28 minLONDON TO NEW YORK
7 hours, 55 min —> 29 minNEW YORK TO PARIS
7 hours, 20 min —> 30 min… pic.twitter.com/Q9YsOahnOl— Nic Cruz Patane (@niccruzpatane) January 17, 2025
It’s a strange moment in history. So much corruption and graft, yet also something extraordinary…