Tuesday, June 23, SpaceX another test of the prototype of the Starship SN7 spacecraft. As part of the testing, the strength of the fuel tank into which liquid nitrogen is poured was tested. The spacecraft's tank burst, but this outcome was quite expected and did not surprise anyone.
Testing was conducted at the company's private spaceport, located in the village of Boca Chica, Texas. The purpose of the test was to test the strength of the stainless steel from which the tank is made. Previously, the company used 301 alloy, but as part of the testing, the tank was made of 304L stainless steel.
During the test, the fuel tank was suddenly covered with frost and at some point its bottom could not withstand the pressure and burst. What happened didn't surprise anyone, because the gap was expected - the company wanted to find out how much pressure the fuel tank could withstand.
RIP SN7 Test Tank. Thanks for the data!
Mary () livestream!
- Chris B - NSF (@NASASpaceflight)
After the break, the prototype rose up two meters and fell on its side. The structure collapsed towards the filling infrastructure, but it was not damaged. Some time later, a Boston Dynamics robot dog, who works for SpaceX and is known as Zeus, appeared on the scene. He took up the inspection of the structure, after which it became clear that only the bottom of the tank was damaged, and the walls were not affected.
According to Elon Musk, a tank leak is a better result than an explosion. Upon reaching a pressure of 7,6 bar, the tank burst, but there was no explosion. This means that in the future, 304L steel will be used in the manufacture of the fuel tank.
The Starship spacecraft is fundamentally different from Crew Dragon, which recently to the International Space Station. It is expected that Starship will be able to deliver people to the Moon, Mars and other planets.
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Source: 3dnews.ru