SpaceX may launch next Starship and explains recent accidents

The way is clear for the tenth test flight of SpaceX's giant rocket. The next Starship has received the corresponding approval from the US aviation authority. At the same time, Elon Musk's space company has completed the investigations into the last two failures, in which the giant rocket was lost in space and then burst into flames during an engine test. The next launch of the Starship is now scheduled for next Sunday evening (local time).

SpaceX has recently had little success with the giant rocket, which will soon be transporting equipment to the moon and, in the long term, people to Mars. In May, the Starship exploded again during its third consecutive test flight, during which the booster was also lost. Only around three weeks later, the Starship exploded on the ground. This happened during preparations for the tenth test flight while testing the engines. Earlier this month, SpaceX carried out this static-fire test on the Starship again, this time without any problems.

Now the US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has completed its investigation into the ninth Starship test flight. According to the FAA statement, there were no injuries or property damage. A fuel component failure was identified as the probable cause. SpaceX has therefore made appropriate corrections to ensure that this does not happen again. The tenth test flight of the Starship was released at the same time.

Accidents due to problems with fuel tanks

Meanwhile, SpaceX has presented its investigation results from the ninth Starship test flight and from the Starship (officially: Ship 36) that exploded on the ground in June. The most likely cause of the giant rocket lost in May was a defective diffuser of the main propellant tank pressure system on the front dome of the Starship's primary methane tank. Sensors detected a decline in pressure in the main methane tank and an increase in pressure in the rocket tip directly above the tank.

The rocket compensated for the pressure drop in the main tank and ended the engine fire. However, a venting of the rocket tip and a worsening fuel leak overwhelmed Starship's attitude control system. As a result, all the remaining fuel was automatically dumped into space, leaving the rocket to passively crash before unguided re-entry over the Indian Ocean. This ended the test flight prematurely.

According to SpaceX, the explosion of Ship 36 on the test stand in June was due to damage to a high-pressure nitrogen tank in the payload area of the Starship. This tank, a so-called Composite Overwrapped Pressure Vessel (COPV), burst violently and caused the rocket to burn. The COPVs are to be operated at a lower pressure on future flights. Additional inspections of the COPVs have also been ordered to look for damage, carry out further tests, impose stricter acceptance criteria, and modify the hardware to rectify the problem.

Tenth test flight also just another attempt

SpaceX once again points out that the Starship is a test flight and that the aerospace company can learn from every failure. For the tenth test flight, SpaceX will therefore also change and try out a few things, such as a different angle for the return of the approximately 70-metre-long “Super Heavy” booster, which supports the approximately 50-metre-long upper stage, the actual Starship, in overcoming Earth's gravitational pull.

According to Ars Technica, different heat shield materials will also be tested on the Starship to protect the rocket from burning up on re-entry into the Earth's atmosphere. The launch of satellites is also to be tested. This was already planned for the last three test flights, but the Starship did not make it due to malfunctions.

According to SpaceX, there are still two Starships of the current generation (version 2) in the hangar, which are planned for the subsequent test flights. The aerospace company will then switch to the even larger version 3 of the giant rocket, which will also have improved Raptor engines. First, however, the tenth test flight of the current Starship is scheduled for August 24. The launch window opens at 6:30 pm local time, i.e., 1:30 am German time on August 25.

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