Starship explosion

Musk’s giant rocket tore a hole in the atmosphere

Elon Musk wants to conquer Mars with his giant rocket "Starship". However, the test program is running slowly and there have already been repeated explosions.

(Bild: AP)

When SpaceX's Starship rocket exploded during its first test flight last year, it not only caused a lot of fire and smoke - it also changed part of the atmosphere. A particularly large hole was created at high altitude, write researchers in the journal Geophysical Research Letters. It extended over thousands of kilometers and existed for almost an hour.

According to the study, the hole was an area in which the air was neutralized. This is because electrically charged particles are normally present there, in the so-called ionosphere at an altitude of around 60 to 1000 kilometers. The "Starship" flight reduced the number of these particles because the combustion of the rocket fuel led to a charge exchange.

First author Yuri Yasyukevich from the Institute of Solar-Terrestrial Physics in Irkutsk, Russia, told Nature that the exhaust gases from various rockets can create temporary holes - but in this case the effect was particularly large, partly due to the shock waves from the explosions.

The ionosphere reacts to various things, the study continues. For example, it can change during solar flares, large meteorites and events on the Earth's surface such as earthquakes or volcanic eruptions. The effects of the "Starship" launch on the ionosphere are comparable to those of large earthquakes or the eruption of the undersea volcano Hunga Tonga-Hunga Ha'apai near the South Sea kingdom of Tonga in 2022.

Jasjukewitsch was surprised at how much change the researchers were able to observe. "This means that we don't understand the processes that take place in the atmosphere," he explained. It is possible that such events could have an impact on satellite navigation in the future, for example for autonomous vehicles.

Most powerful rocket system of all time
"Starship" is the largest and most powerful rocket system ever built. During the flight from Texas on 18 November 2023, the "Super Heavy" engine separated after just under three minutes and exploded shortly afterwards at an altitude of 90 kilometers. The upper stage flew on to 149 kilometers and also exploded. According to the study, the debris fell into the sea north-east of Puerto Rico.

To investigate the effects of the "Starship" flight and the explosions, the researchers used satellite-based navigation systems (GNSS). This involves receivers on the earth's surface communicating with satellites. The speed of certain electromagnetic waves changes with the number of electrical particles in the ionosphere.

Using this data, the researchers were able to determine that the number of electrical particles decreased in an area after the launch. The disturbances spread in a V-shape to the north, up to a distance of 2000 kilometers. "This appears to be the first discovery of a non-chemical ionospheric hole caused by a man-made explosion," they conclude.

After the first flight, further unmanned launches of "Starships" from tech billionaire Elon Musk's private space company followed. During the fourth test this June, the giant rocket flew in space for half an hour before making a controlled landing. It should be possible to reuse the spaceship and rocket in the future. "Starship" is intended to enable manned missions to the moon and Mars.