This afternoon, SpaceX will launch its Starship rocket for the second time, several months after the first launch. Here’s how to follow the takeoff live, which should take place in just a few hours.
Space enthusiasts are in for a treat, as SpaceX prepares to launch its massive Starship rocket for the second time today, Saturday, November 18. This historic takeoff could well lay the foundations for the colonization of other planetsprovided of course that everything goes as planned.
As a reminder, SpaceX launched Starship for the first time at the beginning of the year. The rocket was supposed to reach orbit, but ultimately exploded en route. SpaceX therefore hopes to do better this time, even if an explosion is never a total failure. For those wishing to attend this momentous event live, you can simply watch the event on the video below.
When and how to follow the Starship launch?
- When does Starship’s second takeoff take place? : Saturday November 18, 2023, from 2 p.m. to 4 p.m.
- What time will the live start : a little before 2 p.m. (French time)
- How to follow SpaceX live : here on the site using the YouTube video just above
- How long will the live last? : many hours
The launch is scheduled in a two-hour window, starting at 2 p.m. French time, from Starbase, the SpaceX facility located along the coastal landscape of South Texas. The event promises to be quite spectacular, provided of course that the rocket takes off as planned.
What can we expect from Starship’s second launch?
If all goes well, Starship should fly into Earth’s orbit, reaching a near-orbital speed of 28,163 km/h at approximately 241 km from the ground. The rocket should then begin to descend toward the ground after approximately 1 hour and 17 minutes of flight.
The flight is expected to last approximately 1 hour 30 minutes and ending with a simulated Starship landing in the Pacific, near Hawaii. The booster will simulate a landing in the Gulf of Mexico from the seventh minute.
Starship and Super Heavy are reusable systems, but this time SpaceX will aim for a simple ocean landing rather than a vertical landing, as the first stages of SpaceX’s Falcon 9 and Falcon Heavy rockets usually do. Because of this, SpaceX will have to pay $548 million to launch its rocket.