SpaceX just destroyed a huge tank for its Starship on purpose. Here's the video!

Dec 20, 2019
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Fantastic.... He got his 8.5 bars. The last time he blew the roof off the tank. This time it looks like he blew the bottom.

I had some reservations about SS becoming brittle at cryogenic temperatures. Elon said the new SS actually became stronger. But in this test there wasn't any vibration like it would experience during take off.

He was building 3 tanks last Dec. , so I wonder if he'll do it again to push it above the needed 8.5 bars .

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Fantastic.... He got his 8.5 bars. The last time he blew the roof off the tank. This time it looks like he blew the bottom.

Yes, it was the bulkheads themselves that they had most concern with, but the welds between bulkhead and tank seem to be the weak point during tests. Still, looking at Musk's tweets they have moved to plate overlap welds to close the rings, and the test tank seemed to have overlap welds between the rings as well, so the rest of the welds should have a safety margin. The extra material should be less than a percent added mass so it seems like a reasonable precaution.

I'm huffed - they had almost completed the first two bulkheads (of three) for SN1 last week, so SN1 is under construction. Rumor has it that they are up to Raptor SN20ish, so hopefully they will have the first 3 engines they need to start hopping the Starship when it gets to that stage. And further on, the minimalist launch platforms constructions are looking swell, just a skeleton of water cooled hold down and a water cooled exhaust deflector.
 
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