SpaceX meets for the 3rd flight of the Starship


The Starship’s next flight is now imminent. SpaceX sets a tentative date for the third test of March 14, 2024.

We now have a date and a time. In a tweet published on March 5, 2024, SpaceX will meet on March 14 at 12:30 p.m. to attend the third Starship test. This launch window is provisional, although it is consistent with the American company’s planning and comments from the Civil Aviation Administration (FAA).

Earlier this month, SpaceX had already completed a key test: a takeoff simulation, with the countdown stopped ten seconds before firing. During this full-scale training, the company notably completed the filling of the first stage (named Super Heavy) and the upper stage (Starship, like the launcher).

The Starship launch in summary

  • What ? Starship’s third attempt to complete a complete flight;
  • When ? March 14, 2024, from 12:30 p.m. (Paris time);
  • Or ? In Texas, in space then the Pacific Ocean;
  • What will we see? The ascent of the Starship, aerial maneuvers, the separation of the two stages, the possible return of the first and the continuation of the mission for the second. It can also go wrong and end in one or more explosions.

How to see the Starship take off

The flight must be broadcast live by SpaceX.

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What is the mission of the Starship?

This third test should allow SpaceX to validate the technical modifications made to its rocket since the previous time. No less than seventeen actions to be carried out have been identified: seven for the Super Heavy, ten for the Starship. But SpaceX above all hopes to succeed in finally completing a complete flight without incident.

Two attempts took place in April and November 2023. Each time it ended in explosions, but there has been progress in the meantime. The rocket exploded four minutes after takeoff in the spring. It lasted twice as long during the fall flight. That being said, we are still far from what is planned (90 minutes).

Starship
The Starship during a test. // Source : SpaceX

These two failures are taken advantage of by the group, following a now well-established design logic: we build, we test, we see what happens and we correct to prepare the next iteration. It is an approach which inevitably consumes resources, but it has the merit of testing the equipment in real conditions.

Basically, the mission profile doesn’t change as long as SpaceX fails. The idea is to take off the Starship from Texas, fly over a large portion of the Earth and end the adventure in the Pacific Ocean, off the coast of the Hawaiian archipelago. For its part, the Super Heavy must make a controlled return to the Atlantic, after separation.

It is obviously expected that each engine of the Super Heavy as well as the Starship will operate perfectly, a nominal separation of the two stages and the success of the aerial maneuvers for both. A unique operation in mid-flight is also expected, consisting of transferring propellant into space.

SpaceX rocket launch time

The American company hopes to launch its launch on Thursday March 14, from 12:30 p.m. (Paris time).

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