Spacex Third Flight Test of Starship

With the objective of testing different aspects of the rocket, SpaceX has launched for the 3^rd time a flight test of Starship. This time, the stainless-steel rocket and its Super Heavy booster, which together stand 400 feet tall (122 meters) filled with more than 10 million pounds of liquid methane and liquid oxygen propellant reached space. The test took place on Thursday at SpaceX’s Starbase facility located near Boca Chica Beach in southern Texas.

The Rocket went to space with the intent to splash down in the Indian Ocean. The test comprised of observing the detachment of the booster and the main starship reaching space.

So far, it has met all expectations without issues. The test served its purpose well, succeeding in both aspects, even executing reentry before experiencing Rapid Unscheduled Disassembly (RUD) after a few seconds.

Elon Musk on SpaceX Third Flight Test of Starship

Founder and CEO of SpaceX Elon Musk reacted to the latest Starship launch on Thursday, saying the world’s most powerful rocket will “make life multiplanetary.” He made the short comment with an accompanying photo of the rocket in a post on X.

Gwynne Shotwell, Chief Operating Officer of SpaceX, extends heartfelt congratulations to the entire team for their exceptional achievements on this remarkable day: flawlessly executing the count (with relief that the shrimpers could evacuate in time!), achieving successful liftoff, conducting precise hot staging, overseeing the Super Heavy boost back and coast (with likely a couple of engines engaged during landing burn!), smoothly inserting and coasting the ship, demonstrating payload door cycling and prop transfer (pending confirmation!), and completing the ship entry!

It has been awhile since the time of static fire tests. news such as ” SpaceX’s massive Starship rocket remains to pass key tests on its road to sending the Mars-bound launch system up to orbit for the 1st time.” are now things of the past. Resilience and a lot of effort have proven time and again that a private company such as SpaceX can deliver humans to Mars if believed and worked on a strategic plan.

Starship Third Flight Test is Carefully Monitored

SpaceX and NASA may be celebrating the successes of Thursday’s mission, but from the perspective of the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), responsible for licensing commercial rocket launches, the loss of the Super Heavy booster and Starship spacecraft remains a setback requiring thorough review. The FAA regularly oversees investigations into incidents involving spacecraft loss during flight. Despite SpaceX’s prior awareness that Starship and Super Heavy were unlikely to survive the flight, regulators still need to analyze the incident.

SpaceX and the FAA have had occasional tensions in their relationship, with SpaceX expressing frustration over what it perceives as prolonged reviews by the agency, leading to delays in testing.

Starship Third Flight Test in a Nutshell

Here a few aspects according to CNN that can help you catch up on the event:

• The Starship spacecraft made it to orbital speeds.
• Both the Starship spacecraft and Super Heavy rocket booster made it much further into flight than during two previous tests in 2023.
• SpaceX completed a propellant transfer demonstration, and Starship’s payload doors were tested. It’s too early to say if they’re wholly successful, as engineers said they need to review some data.
• SpaceX did not re-light Starship’s engines as expected, but the webcast offered stunning views of the spacecraft plunging back into the atmosphere.
• It’s not clear if the Super Heavy booster landed in one piece.
• The Starship spacecraft experienced premature destruction, leading to an earlier-than-anticipated loss of communication by SpaceX. However, SpaceX had no intention of recovering the vehicle; it was designed for crash landing.

Read the original article on: CNN

Read more: Is Kennedy Space Center Ready for Starship’s Force?