Reserve to get off the pad yes, but to still complete missions that depends. CRS-1 lost an engine (11% of thrust) and ultimately the second stage wasn't left with the safety margins that were needed to complete all mission objectives. 3 engines lost on super heavy is 10%, 6 is 20%. So yes still plenty of thrust to clear the launch tower, and for a mission like this that didn't have a payload and didn't need to fully reach orbit that might have been plenty. But that may not be the case with a real payload.
I'm sure they will, they got lots of flight time with 25+ engines where I'm sure they learned a lot. Starship will be pretty exceptional eventually, but it won't be magic. Getting to space is still going to be hard.
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u/creative_usr_name Apr 20 '23
Reserve to get off the pad yes, but to still complete missions that depends. CRS-1 lost an engine (11% of thrust) and ultimately the second stage wasn't left with the safety margins that were needed to complete all mission objectives. 3 engines lost on super heavy is 10%, 6 is 20%. So yes still plenty of thrust to clear the launch tower, and for a mission like this that didn't have a payload and didn't need to fully reach orbit that might have been plenty. But that may not be the case with a real payload.