Last November, the booster sent the megarocket into space, but communication was lost 8 minutes after liftoff and SpaceX said the vehicle broke down.
BOCA CHICA, Texas (AP) — Space enthusiasts are bracing for the excitement of the SpaceX Starship Super Heavy test flight from East Texas.
SpaceX founder and CEO Elon Musk said the groups are preparing for the third test flight of the company’s 400-foot-tall reusable spacecraft, Starship and the Super Heavy booster. Starship could launch Thursday at 8 a. m. ET since the company’s launch in Boca Chica, Texas.
On the last flight in November, Starship reached the edge of space before its automated termination formula caused the spacecraft to self-destruct.
SpaceX Starship and Super Heavy Booster will launch in Boca Chica, Texas, on March 12, 2024, ahead of SpaceX’s third flight with the megarocket. (Image: SpaceX)
In February, the FAA closed the investigation into the twist of fate that occurred on the November test flight. SpaceX and the FAA know 17 corrective moves needed before the company receives a modified release license for its next orbital flight test. SpaceX said it has implemented hardware tweaks and made other upgrades to prepare for the upcoming flight.
On Wednesday, the FAA issued the updated release license the company was waiting for to fly Starship again.
SpaceX said the second flight has achieved several milestones and that the company plans to expand them with this upcoming flight.
The first flight in April ended with an epic explosion 24 miles over the Gulf of Mexico when SpaceX first unveiled Starship. The “jumps” of years past were made in Texas, some also explosive, before SpaceX attempted to release the spacecraft and booster together.
SpaceX’s Starship rocket launches its second test flight from Starbase in Boca Chica, Texas, on Nov. 18, 2023. (TIMOTHY A. CLARY/AFP/Getty Images)
SpaceX said the 110-minute launch window will open at 8 a. m. ET (7 a. m. CT). The company said a webcast of the flight test will be broadcast on X, formerly Twitter, about 30 minutes before liftoff.
Ahead of the launch, SpaceX shared footage of the large launch “stacked for flight” on the Texas pad.
With the third flight, SpaceX will take another trajectory with Starship and test a new set of “ambitious goals,” adding the successful ascent of any of the stages, the opening and completion of Starship’s payload door, a demonstration of the propellant’s movement in the coastal phase. of the upper stage,” the first re-ignition of a Raptor engine in the area, and a controlled re-entry of the Starship.
The latter two were scheduled to land in the Pacific Ocean, off the coast of Hawaii. Neither of the latter two cars survived the climb to land. SpaceX said the third flight would culminate in a splashdown in the Indian Ocean.
SpaceX’s Super Heavy spacecraft and its booster at the company’s launch in Boca Chica, Texas. SpaceX is preparing for a third test flight of the vehicle.
“This new flight guides us to test new techniques, such as burning engines in space, while maximizing public safety,” the company said.
NASA officials continue to monitor the progress of the Starship spacecraft, which will be used to take NASA’s Artemis astronauts to the Moon in 2026. However, SpaceX still wants many more control flights before the vehicle carries people.
SPACEX MAKES CHANGES TO SPACECRAFT AFTER ‘LESSONS LEARNED’ FROM TEST FLIGHT
Eventually, Starship and Super Heavy will be introduced from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center. Musk said the spacecraft is designed to be “grabbed” through the arms of the release tower, performing a controlled landing at the same location where it was introduced.
This month, SpaceX and the Air Force are holding public meetings in Brevard County, home of KSC and the Cape Canaveral space station, to solicit feedback on a potential Starship launch site north of Cape Canaveral Launch Complex 37.
Private citizens have also signed up for Starship flights, adding entrepreneur Jared Isaacman’s Polaris program. Japanese billionaire Yusaku Maezawa plans to take eight other people with him on a Starship flight around the moon.
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