Starship’s crater on the launch pad and the purpose of flame trenches

Some footage emerged from the Starship’s launch pad after it took off on April 20, showing a crater left by the fumes of its enormous engines under the Orbital Launch Mount (OLM).

Another video shows debris hurling over the launch site, colliding with nearby objects, including camera vans.

A large portion of the reason behind these events is the flat concrete launch pad used, instead of a flame trench.

The flame trench is a trench dug under the launch pad to accommodate the exhaust heat and fumes from the spacecraft’s rockets. The flame trench consists of a flame deflector, which deflects the burn products horizontally within the trench before dissipating in the surrounding atmosphere.

This process minimizes noise, heat, and debris deflection on the surrounding environment, as well as on the rocket itself. In addition to this, a flame trench reduces the damage caused on the launch site.