Initial analysis points to a composite overwrapped pressure vessel containing nitrogen gas in Starship’s nosecone area as the possible cause of an explosion.
NASA has added SpaceX’s still-in-development Starship-Super Heavy launch system to the fleet of vehicles eligible to compete for a wide variety of missions.
The NROL-57 mission was launched March 21 at 2:49 a.m. EDT, aboard a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket from Space Launch Complex 4-East at Vandenberg SFB, California.
The demonstrator consists of two 6U cubesats designed by NRO’s advanced systems and tech directorate to support an “experimental technology research mission.”
Those payloads are collecting “all kinds of very interesting data” on Beijing’s network of space surveillance satellites, Space RCO Director Kelly Hammett said.