They plan to put their first SpaceX giant Super Heavy rocket into orbit on its third launch. Following such consent from US regulators, the ground is clear, and liftoff is now possible.
The launch window opens at 7 am: CEO John Smith’s speech will take place at 7 am CST and will take 2 hours. On any path to Elon Musk’s dream of colonizing Mars, Starbase is the destination and centerpiece of the event – SpaceX’s massive site in Boca Chica, Texas. Still, you won’t be forced to travel long distances! The company will be live streaming the event on its website and a popular social media platform [X] starting at 6:3 AM in the Central Timezone.
Although standing no less than 400 feet tall, Starship has already completed two experimental flights. The most significant, in April last year, was no less spectacular: the entire system (the Starship and the heavy booster, it was dubbed Super Heavy) burst into flames during flight. The second attempt, which was slightly more successful in achieving orbit, ended with a crash during landing similar to the first.
And these blunders, although in this area may be called “anomalies”, which is a term in the trading field that is often used, are small mistakes that are, well, cellos-sized like the previous one. Total disaster. Whenever something is discovered that doesn’t seem right, SpaceX becomes the center of investigation. The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) comes forward to control the entire process. The conclusion of the investigation, which began in November last year, later culminated in this straightforward but important test flight with its launch being approved for this license.
But, at least in this case, things are different. SpaceX has continued to move forward by incorporating many changes and hardware upgrades, reflecting its learning approach. They’re going to demonstrate some of those previously unseen features including refueling an upper stage with a payload door and igniting a Rapture engine for the first time in the vast darkness of space. The new flight path, ending with a burn in space with a splash landing in the Indian Ocean, will be shorter because the upper stage that is in motion will be away from the Earth’s trajectory.
