Starship: Next test flight of the giant rocket planned for Wednesday night
For the first time, a booster that has already been launched is to shoot another starship on a suborbital flight. This time it is not to be captured.
(Image: SpaceX)
Shortly before midnight our time – at exactly 11:30 pm – SpaceX plans to open the launch window for the ninth test flight of the giant Starship rocket. If everything goes according to plan, a live broadcast on the US space company's website and on the short message service X will begin 30 minutes before the launch. Both companies are owned by US billionaire Elon Musk. For the first time, a booster that has already completed a launch will be used for the upcoming flight. According to SpaceX, the “Super Heavy” stage was part of the seventh test flight and was recovered after the successful launch. The upper stage itself exploded a few minutes after launch in mid-January.
Several targets for test flight
During the new test flight, the upper stage of the rocket is to carry out a series of tests on its suborbital flight, including launching a payload for the first time. This will involve a total of eight models of Starlink satellites, which will subsequently burn up. A series of experiments are also planned to help ensure that the spacecraft can also reach the ground safely in the future. This time, however, the booster will not be captured and will instead be steered into the Gulf of Mexico, which SpaceX calls the “Gulf of America”.
Videos by heise
Shortly before the upcoming test flight, SpaceX explained the reasons for the premature end of the last Starship test. During both the seventh and eighth, the last launch to date, upper stage engines failed a few minutes after separation from the booster rocket, causing the spacecraft to lose control and self-destruct. However, the causes were completely different, the company explained. During the eighth flight, one of the central Raptor engines failed, triggering a chain reaction. However, the reasons for this were not disclosed. As a result, SpaceX said it had made numerous improvements. The extent to which these have helped will be revealed during the night.
(mho)
