RUD

Bad relight on one engine?

I went to the stream late and saw a big explosion! What happened?

Looked like it to me. The SpaceX stream shows it pretty clearly.

Boom

Something flew off from inside

Looks like they're still struggling a bit with relighting after the big flip. That has to be some really weird forces at play with the internal fuel.

At least one lit up right in the last few seconds. Not enough to avoid the crash.

Something definitely broke and flew off on re-light. That aside, maybe they should start the flip a little higher up? Altitude is life...

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Yep. One of the Raptors let her down. Still it&#39;s just the final part. These things bellyflop return perfectly. <a href="https://t.co/XdeeLWIsHt">pic.twitter.com/XdeeLWIsHt</a></p>&mdash; Chris B - NSF (@NASASpaceflight) <a href="https://twitter.com/NASASpaceflight/status/1356702909619142659?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">February 2, 2021</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

Insprucker says that the plan was to relight two Raptors to flip then land on one?

<iframe width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/_zZ7fIkpBgs?start=695" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen></iframe>

Something flies off at 11:47

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Lots of debris getting kicked out on the second engine relight during the kick flip. Going to go ahead and say that’s not exactly <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/norminal?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#norminal</a>... but epic none the less �� <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Starship?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#Starship</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/SN9?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#SN9</a> <a href="https://t.co/ujD3Mr8bGF">pic.twitter.com/ujD3Mr8bGF</a></p>&mdash; Everyday Astronaut (@Erdayastronaut) <a href="https://twitter.com/Erdayastronaut/status/1356710355737726981?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">February 2, 2021</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

Yep. My understanding is that two raptors flip the Starship, then one cuts out and the remaining one is used for landing. Because it couldn't flip fast enough on one engine, the landing thrust from the one that did work wasn't vertical enough to slow it properly.

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Closeup of SN9’s landing (well kinda...)! ��<br>(Credit: <a href="https://twitter.com/LabPadre?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@LabPadre</a>) <a href="https://t.co/Rf3JM0SA6D">pic.twitter.com/Rf3JM0SA6D</a></p>&mdash; Everything SpaceX (@spacex360) <a href="https://twitter.com/spacex360/status/1356710029143998465?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">February 2, 2021</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

Whoa. I'm not staying up all night for it, but this is a cool milestone. Two launches a mile apart on the same day.

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Now targeting two Falcon 9 launches of Starlink satellites*on Thursday, February 4, pending range acceptance and recovery weather conditions. First Falcon 9 launch*at 1:19 a.m. EST*from SLC-40, followed by another Falcon 9 launch*~4 hours later*at 5:36 a.m. EST*from LC-39A</p>— SpaceX (@SpaceX) <a href="https://twitter.com/SpaceX/status/1356807508975845381?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">February 3, 2021</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>