Elon Musk wants to launch Starship again in 1-2 months, but here's the challenge he faces

SpaceX CEO Elon Musk has predicted that his company will be ready for the second launch attempt of Starship in one or two months from now but the damage at the launch pad might make it difficult. The first attempt was nothing short of a roller coaster ride and had guaranteed excitement, just as Musk promised.

The mission, however, did not turn out as planned but Musk never promised a successful launch and his prediction of 50% chance of failure came true. The 120 meter (394 feet) tall rocket lifted off from Starbase in Boca Chica, Texas on April 20 amid loud cheers from SpaceX employees at company headquarters in Hawthorne, California. 

Liftoff from Starbase pic.twitter.com/rgpc2XO7Z9

— SpaceX (@SpaceX)

For the first eight seconds or so, the rocket did not seem to be moving until it did with a loud roar and even louder applause from the crowd. It was found later that 6-7 Raptor 2 engines out of 33 in the Super Heavy Booster shut down shortly after launch, but the world's heaviest rocket still made it to an altitude of 39 km.

The rocket, however, exploded around 4 minutes later after the first stage Booster failed to separate from the second stage, which made SpaceX activate the Flight Termination System (FTS) over the Gulf of Mexico. The company subtly called it "unscheduled rapid disassembly" of Starship.

Starship Super Heavy has experienced an anomaly before stage separation! 💥 pic.twitter.com/MVw0bonkTi

— Primal Space (@thePrimalSpace)

Starship reveals its jaw dropping power

Now, to the damage caused. SpaceX and Musk are celebrating because Starship overcame two major challenges during its first Integrated flight test. First is clearing Stage 0, which is clearing the launch infrastructure without obliterating it, and enduring Max Q, the phase when a rocket experiences maximum aerodynamic stress during its ascent. What is now coming to light is a crater that was formed under the launch mount, thanks to the 33 Raptor engines on the Booster that can together produce over 16.5 million pounds of thrust. Since few engines failed, the maximum thrust was not at the required levels. There are several pictures circulating on social media which show the extent of damage produced by Starship, expecially to the launch mount and nearby propellant storage tanks. 

Quick cruise by #Starship’s launch pad to asses the damage. pic.twitter.com/vInP7s6EZ5

— Star✦Fleet Tours (@StarFleetTours)

Starship’s launch pad after its test flight yesterday. Yikes.
Perhaps surprisingly, a sustainable launch pad may be the bottleneck for Starship’s success. SpaceX will have to consider what changes must be made before next launch. Perhaps flame diverter or stronger water deluge. pic.twitter.com/vrY6gwH2kX

— Toby Li (@tobyliiiiiiiiii)

Ars Technica's Eric Berger said the damage is 'pretty serious' but several former SpaceX employees to whom he spoke to believe that the next attempt could be only few months away. However, it could take as long as 6 months as many experts are suggesting creating a giant water-cooled flame diverter made of steel beneath the launch mount to absorb the Booster's flames and thus prevent the damage. 

3 months ago, we started building a massive water-cooled, steel plate to go under the launch mount.

Wasn’t ready in time & we wrongly thought, based on static fire data, that Fondag would make it through 1 launch.

Looks like we can be ready to launch again in 1 to 2 months.

— Elon Musk (@elonmusk)

Responding to Berger, Musk tweeted that SpaceX indeed started "building a massive water-cooled, steel plate to go under the launch mount" three months ago. The idea was dropped because the engineers thought that Fondag (a durable form of concrete) could survive at least one Starship launch. Musk is known to set bold timelines for his ventures and it remains to be seen if SpaceX could meet the next deadline since the rocket cannot launch until the launch pad is fixed.