By CATHERINE DONNELLY
editor@portisabelsouthpadre.com
If the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) approves SpaceX’s modified launch license, the company announced it is prepared for the fourth test flight of Starship and the Super Heavy booster from its Boca Chica launch site, the quickest turnaround time so far between test flights.
SpaceX spokesmen said the FAA review process was quicker this time because neither the Starship nor the Super Booster Heavy were destroyed during the third test flight.
Starship, which is still in prototype, is tentatively set to launch on June 5, SpaceX announced on Friday. The launch window opens at 7 a.m. Central Standard Time. The plan is for Starship to launch from Boca Chica and splash down in the Indian Ocean.
The three previous flight attempts ended in various stages of destruction, but what SpaceX claims is acceptable and expected in their trial-and-error (versus computer modeling) approach to development.
“The fourth flight test turns our focus from achieving orbit to demonstrating the ability to return and reuse Starship and Super Heavy,” the company released in a statement.
Designed to be fully reusable, Starship stands 397 feet (121 meters) tall—90 feet taller than the Statue of Liberty, according to Phys.org. Its Super Heavy booster produces 16.7 million pounds (74.3 meganewtons) of thrust, almost double that of the world’s second most powerful rocket, NASA’s Space Launch System.
The rocket is vital to NASA’s plans for landing astronauts on the Moon in a few years, according to Phys.org. SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rockets and its Dragon capsule have become intertwined in NASA’s current projects. But more test launches and quicker turnarounds will be necessary for SpaceX to be ready for NASA’s 2026 target of returning astronauts to the Moon.
SpaceX, the National Transportation Safety Board and the FAA have been conducting a mishap investigation since the March test flight. SpaceX used the time between the March launch and the upcoming launch to make modifications to correct the things that went wrong with the last flight. SpaceX engineers improve filtration to prevent blockages and has added additional roll control thrusters, among other things.
“During Flight 3, neither vehicle’s automated flight safety system was triggered, nor no vehicle debris impacted outside of pre-defined hazard areas,” according to a SpaceX announcement. “Pending FAA finding of no public safety impact, a license modification for the next flight can be issued without formal closure of the mishap investigation.”
Comments