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SpaceX's Starship booster, which was the first in the program's history to splash down in the water successfully softly, might have exploded after the test ended, suggests an alleged leaked image and a fan analysis circulating on social media. While SpaceX's Starship tests aim to test the rockets to the point of failure and make subsequent upgrades, the firm has come under criticism for its first three flights, which have often been described as failures due to their inability to avoid unintended explosions or 'Rapid Unscheduled Disassembly' as SpaceX calls it.
Now, an alleged leaked image of the fourth flight's booster's last moments, coupled with an analysis by a social media user, hints that perhaps the booster exploded after it tipped over at the end of its return profile.
Leaked Image Of Starship Super Heavy Exploding Is Likely Real, Suggests Social Media Analysis
SpaceX's avid social media fans were caught off guard yesterday after X user BocasBrain shared an image of an explosion of what could only have been the Flight Four Super Heavy booster. The image showed an orange mushroom cloud visible from a buoy similar to the one used by SpaceX to capture the final views of its rocket test.
Soon after the image was shared, X user mcrs987, going by the title TheSpaceEngineer, ran a detailed analysis. Citing their knowledge of lighting and image editing, the user shared that judging by its warped perspective and a square frame visible at the bottom right, the image appeared to capture video footage running on a monitor. While conceding that the distortion could also be due to the dual lens cameras on the buoy, they added the footage could also be distorted because of water droplets that also "warped" the booster's descent footage.
Next up, the way the light from the explosion diffuses through the signal light of the buoy.
This one might be harder to spot if you don't have much of an understanding of how light distributes through materials. But, that's why this note hasn't really been mentioned anywhere.… pic.twitter.com/SlLx25KFCi
— TheSpaceEngineer (@mcrs987) July 6, 2024
Next up, the user shares that the light of the explosion is diffusing through the buoy's signal light. According to them, "it would be quite challenging to blend " to create the diffusive effect, and a potentially fake image's creators would go "to extreme lengths like this would just be absolute dedication just to fool a bunch of people." The next bit of evidence, which user mcrs987 admits can be evidence of a fake image, is the clouds above the mushroom cloud. These appear to align perfectly with SpaceX's footage of the booster's landing, and the explosion's "very visible reflection and glow on the clouds" is "stupidly difficult to replicate on an already existing image," according to the analysis.
A comparison with SpaceX's previous Starship explosions also shows that the color of the fireball in the alleged leaked image is quite similar. These details, combined with an FAA report of a previous Starship test, lead mcrs87 to conclude that the Super Heavy's downcomer likely failed after it toppled in the water. The downcomer, a pipe that travels through the tanks to transport fuel to the engines, is a notoriously troublesome part, and a Starship booster was also damaged in 2022 after it failed during testing.
Her is an update of where I believe boostback shutdown is. pic.twitter.com/Zf4KzC2OQL
— LabPadre Space (@LabPadre) July 7, 2024
Details of infrasound data of the booster shared by LabPadre on X also show increasing activity after the landing burn's shut down. This was the final "piece of evidence that could put the final nail in the coffin" that mcrs87 was waiting for. The X user appears convinced that the last data set confirms the suspicion that the booster might have exploded as it tipped post landing as the infrasound data contains "[t]ons of echos and a spike that's louder than what may be the landing burn or the sonic booms of the vehicle right at startup."
