SpaceX is organizing a flight for Starship, its new rocket. This is the first real flight of the launcher, which is to succeed the Falcon 9 and the Falcon Heavy.
After years of development, it’s the big day. SpaceX is conducting a life-size test of its new rocket, Starship, on Monday April 17. The launcher is being tested for the first time in its complete version, with the two stages assembled. It is a flight around the Earth: the rocket will take off from the United States to go into space, before landing in the Pacific.
Update : the flight was canceled and postponed to April 20, due to a problem with a valve.
How to see the launch of the Starship
The launch is being streamed on SpaceX’s YouTube channel. It is possible to see the shooting with the video below.
The launch in a nutshell
- What ? The first flight of the Starship, in full version.
- When ? On April 20, 2023, from 2:45 p.m.
- Or ? In Texas, then in space and in the Pacific Ocean.
- What will we see? The first flight of SpaceX’s new rocket into space, which will one day replace the Falcon 9 and Falcon Heavy.
What is the mission?
Complete a flight, in order to pass a stage in the development of the Starship launcher. In recent years, SpaceX has multiplied tests to validate its design choices. For example, experimental flights have made it possible to demonstrate the ability to re-ignite the engines or to switch from a horizontal position to a vertical position, to prepare for a landing.
This pass is key for the future. The American company has been preparing for this flight for months, with an acceleration in recent months. in January 2023, the filling of the Starship’s tanks was carried out. In February, ignition of almost all of the Super Heavy’s engines also took place. All this foreshadowed the meeting of April 17, 2023.
On paper, the launcher must leave Texas to finish its race in the Hawaiian archipelago, after a passage in space. Starship is a large vehicle (119 meters) with a retro look. It consists of two parts: an upper stage, the spacecraft, which bears the same name as the rocket, and a lower stage, which provides the main propulsion. It’s the Super Heavy.
SpaceX intends to make Starship the Swiss army knife of space exploration. The range of missions that the launcher is supposed to be able to accomplish is vast: in theory, it must launch satellites into orbit, supply the International Space Station (ISS) and transport crews, and even be used in the conquest of the Moon, Mars , and beyond.
But before fantasizing about exploring the Solar System, it will already be necessary not to crash the Starship on Earth (or at sea). For this flight, SpaceX announced to give up on certain attempts. There is no question of landing the Starship in an upright position. There are also no plans to capture the Super Heavy on its return with the Rocket Catcher Tower.
Launch time
The American company announced the trial for April 20, 2023 from 2:45 p.m. Paris time.
Do you want to know everything about the mobility of tomorrow, from electric cars to pedelecs? Subscribe now to our Watt Else newsletter!