SpaceX Boston Dynamics robot dog named “Zeus” was spotted at the test site of the space agency last week just after the rocket prototype called SN10 exploded just minutes after landing successfully.
The third time appeared to be the charm for Elon Musk’s Starship rocket – until it wasn’t.
The latest heavy-duty launch vehicle prototype from SpaceX soared flawlessly into the sky in a high-altitude test blast-off on Wednesday from Boca Chica, Texas, then flew itself back to Earth to achieve the first upright landing for a Starship model.
But the triumph was short-lived. Listing slightly to one side as an automated fire-suppression system trained a stream of water on flames still burning at the base of the rocket, the spacecraft blew itself to pieces about eight minutes after touchdown.
It was the third such landing attempt to end in a fireball after an otherwise successful test flight for the Starship, being developed by SpaceX to carry humans and 100 tons of cargo on future missions to the moon and Mars.
After the explosion, SpaceX staff were seen rummaging through the wreckage and debris while collecting data. In videos that have emerged since then, robot dog Zeus was also spotted trotting around the wreckage helping the humans at SpaceX’s Boca Chica facility in Texas.. It is a four legged yellow coloured robot dog.
SpaceX crews are hard at work this morning, with both vehicle wreckage inspections and debris cleanup. You can see in the images below, employees assessing the damage sustained onto the Raptor engines and Zeus patrolling the landing site for any potential hazards. pic.twitter.com/CMJomdhomA— Austin Barnard (@austinbarnard45) March 4, 2021
#SpaceX inspecting their #Starship SN7 tank prototype after a successful test-to-failure cryogenic test with their #BostonDynamics Spot robot dog called "Zeus" by @LabPadre pic.twitter.com/q15WxWlg45
— xape (@tiefseeudo) June 23, 2020
Zeus, SpaceX’s robotic inspection dog checking out the wreckage. @NASASpaceflight pic.twitter.com/oTpqkeQ9kI— Jack Beyer (@thejackbeyer) March 4, 2021
Zeus the robotic @BostonDynamics dog struts his stuff around the #SpaceX #BocaChica launch facility. An amazing sight to see myself for the first time tonight, straight out of science fiction -Myself for @SpaceflightIns pic.twitter.com/1Beg25HBGY— NickyX (@NickyX15A) March 3, 2021
Zeus in action! A quick video I was able to capture of SpaceX's robotic @BostonDynamics dog walking around the launch site -Myself for @SpaceflightIns pic.twitter.com/v5a6GvOBZ6— NickyX (@NickyX15A) March 3, 2021
According to the Daily Mail, the robot dog costs $75,000 and can be used indoors and outdoors. It can map and sense environment, climb stairs, open doors and avoid obstacles.
For Musk, the billionaire SpaceX founder who also heads the electric carmaker Tesla Inc, the outcome was mixed news.
The Starship SN10 came far closer to achieving a safe, vertical touchdown than two previous models – SN8 in December and SN9 in February. In a tweet responding to tempered congratulations from an admirer of his work, Musk replied, “RIP SN10, honorable discharge.”
The video feed provided by SpaceX on the company’s YouTube channel cut off moments after the landing. But separate fan feeds streamed over the same social media platform showed an explosion suddenly erupting at the base of the rocket, hurling the SN10 into the air before it crashed to the ground and became engulfed in flames.
The complete Starship rocket, which will stand 394-feet (120 metres) tall when mated with its super-heavy first-stage booster, is SpaceX’s next-generation fully reusable launch vehicle – the center of Musk’s ambitions to make human space travel more affordable and routine.
A first orbital Starship flight is planned for year’s end. Musk has said he intends to fly Japanese billionaire Yusaku Maezawa around the moon with the Starship in 2023.
(With inputs from Reuters)