SpaceX is gearing up for Starship’s sixth test flight and preparing for a second attempt to capture a giant rocket booster using a giant “chopstick” arm.
Starship is scheduled to launch on Tuesday, November 19th, with a 30-minute launch time starting at 5:00 PM ET. Just over a month after the breakthrough booster capture, the rocket lifted off from SpaceX’s Starbase facility in Boca Chica, Texas, on another suborbital flight designed to test Starship’s reusability. Head to.
Watch Starship’s 6th flight test → https://t.co/oIFc3u9laE https://t.co/acpdO2brbP
— SpaceX (@SpaceX) November 16, 2024
SpaceX plans to broadcast Starship’s sixth test flight on television. Website and through the company account X will begin its livestream approximately 45 minutes before launch.
Just before the scheduled launch, President-elect Donald Trump said: arrived I’m at Starbase to attend the recital on Tuesday. Recent events indicate that he and SpaceX CEO Elon Musk may work closely together on future spaceflight policy, particularly on regulations.
A few days before launch, SpaceX moved Starship’s super heavy booster to the Starbase launch pad, preparing it to be stacked on top of the rocket’s upper stage. The sixth test flight was the fastest for the Starship rocket, which launched just over a month ago. Fortunately for SpaceX, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) granted the company approval for Integrated Flight Test 5, which also allows its Starship rocket to fly for the sixth time under the same license. Previously, SpaceX had to wait for a new license from the FAA.
starship lifted up On October 13, for the fifth time, but for the first time, Starship’s 232-foot-tall (71-meter) superheavy booster slowly descended toward a special tower named Mechazilla, stretching out like a giant. Captured the rocket with a mechanical arm. A pair of chopsticks. On its sixth launch, SpaceX will once again attempt to catch Starship’s boosters, while the upper stage will reignite one of its Raptor engines for the first time in space and conduct test maneuvers for reentry and descent.
With each test flight, Starship gets closer to loading a useful payload and reaching orbital height. SpaceX launched its Starship rocket for the first time in April 2023, but its debut turned out to be less than ideal after the rocket suffered a fatal tumble, forcing ground controllers to issue a self-destruct command just four minutes before the end of the mission. I couldn’t say it.
With each rocket takeoff, the situation gradually improved. Starship’s fourth launch in June allowed the rocket to nearly withstand peak heating and maximum aerodynamic pressure during controlled reentry, breaking new ground compared to previous test flights. This paves the way for re-entry and booster capture in early October, an impressive feat SpaceX hopes to repeat a second time.
Ultimately, SpaceX plans to salvage and reuse both Starship’s booster and its upper stage. Company founder and CEO Elon Musk recently announced SpaceX’s goal to use Mechazilla to move up the ladder by early next year. SpaceX is also moving to increase the frequency of its Starship launches, with Musk aiming for 25 launches by 2025. It remains to be seen whether the rocket will be able to keep up with the schedule of the space billionaire’s ambitions.
